>> c-span i view of government per funded by in more including charter communication >> charter is proud to be recognized by one of the best internet providers and were just getting started building 100,000 miles of new infrastructure to reach those that need it>> charter communication support c-span as a public television providers giving you a front row seat democracy. >> u.s. commerce secretary gina raimondo highlighted the u.s. commitment t boost commitment and kenya and the african continent during the form of the converse and washington, d.c., th state visit promoting public private under partnership, this is minutes. my name is john murphy. i'm senior vice president and head of international here at the u.s. chamber of commerce. today is a great day for the chamber. and we're these

auspicious meetings. the chamber of course is largest business federation, representing the interests of millionsize, sector and region. our membership in small businesses and a majority of the nation's it also includes 130e abroad. including our fantastic at amjen kenya who arehere today. but it is precisely because of the broad reach of large and small, that ours is an reaching for commercial opportunities outside our world's consumers live outside of the united states. and our members never forget that. and so we he of advocating for business interests and sound policies thatil greater trade and investment in capitals all around the the jewels of our international programs is the center. through this important program we're focused on leading the business community into deeper engagement with partners across africa.

this includes africa's different communities in different regionsdium sized companies in both africa and the united states. i'm pleased to report that our focus on building business linkages with our this growth comes from bilateral partnerships like the one wejo or more broad-based through our partnership with the african continental free trade area secretariat. it also comes through the african growth act, the cornerstone of u.s. trade ties with the continent which was signedo this week. as a younger congressional passage w had here at the chamber when i joined 25 years ago. and i sa what we see today. american business is kean to strengthen commercial ties with africa. asrs of congress on both sides of the aisle. appropriately, u.s.-kenya business forum is fostering trade bilateral business ties. and we're honored to host his president of the republic of

kenya, on the occasion of his state visit. i'd like to thank our partners today, among them are platinum sponsors google, our gold sponsors, abbott flutterwave mastercard milele energy endeavor and our silver sponsors pfizer and my hydro.many others in the room today, are encouraged by the opportunity to contribute to the economic transformation and growth that seen under president ruto's leadership. and these companies are eager to support the exciting economic development that kenya's strivi not jn its own borders but across the subregion. last chamber's u.s.-africa business center was also honored to kenya, secretary of commerceleaders across the continental in nairobi atiness summit, focused on catalyzing commercial ties across the cont today's dialogue is part of our strategy to elevate the u.s.-kenya commercial relationship as a means of spurring additional business

connection and crowding in investment. the u.s. chamber ruto's leadership in championing business-friendly policies. digital ecosystem and promoting climate-smart technol and innovative growth. made significant progress in lifting millions out of poverty through these developments, making significant progress towards sustainable development goals and championing the role of women and youth economy. american companies are already contributing progress as you'll hear again and again today. but we want to do these vast include in areas such as the digital revolution, health care, ag the clean energy transformation and beyond. and the innovati o private sector will be critical in and delivering solutions across all of these today's forum you will see action on the progress we hopedreds of millions of dollars in deals are signed on this stage and in our deal room. we will learn of public-private partnerships and hear inspiring

examples of the private sector innovations that driving development aligned with the president's stated ambitions shared throughout earlier of his historic state visit. it's not insignificant that we'rex-m on may 24, on the ao*efbg of ar can day, and kenya has become in many ways a model for sustainable development and inclusive economic growth across africa. and we know that sustaining this growth can only be achieved through continued collaboration commitment and creativity of thesort we have the privilege to experience today. ladies and gentlemen, thank you joining us for the u.s.-kenya business forum and a warm -- to all of you as we formally begin our program. thank you. [applause] announcer: building strategic partnerships to promot investment.

>> good morning. slept. like to really thank all of you for coming. but this is my distinct honor to please have a seat. it's my distinct honor to introduce th some experts in their own rights. it is my honor to introduce panel, this panel about trade and investment, how to promote trade and investment inkenya. so today i have me four

distinguished panelists. let me start by introducing mr. mike bern from the berns brothers. i also have with me the director of u.s. and development agency. next have a doctor, i hope i'm pronouncing it the founder of the limited and also next to me i have mr. paul founder chairman of -- and c.e.o. of my h my hydro i think is going to tell us a bit more about it. like to really set the stage by kenya has been at the forefront of innovation in africa. it is a country that is well diversified. hi home and in orr to ho,

who has been biden and today well the opportunities that we have in this very vibrant. so today this panel will allow us to really impact the opportunities for trade andn kenya. so this is a unanimously will 20 to 30, 35, 40 minutes. so we don't have a lot of time. we're just going to dive straight into alower this distinguished panel to really important work they're doing on the continent. also proffer some advice for folks that are interested in investing thisket. so let me maybe start. each of you probably to introduce you properly. the website, we have extensiveio[ bore about the wonderful work that they a doing.

let me start with you. for you to speak a littleit about what your organization is all and what you do. i'd like to say her is part of the 17ew it's one of the best-kept secrets of the u.s. government agency and you'll understand why i say that. it's also one of the agencies that is most liked by the private sector. i don't want to offendthis is the truth. i that. then we'll come to the other panelists. please. e here. i have to tell you, in that reception room where we were having breakfast, it felt like weeding. so much -- wedding. i mean, so much energy, so fantasti can partners our private sector partners. i have to thank the chamber convening us here my name is enoh ebong and i have the great development agency, we're an independent

government agency focused on promoting the development of quality infrastructure in emerging economies around the word and doing so that brings the best of what the u.s. has toof solutions and innovation, in terms of technologies. we are pleased to work in key sectors of clean energy, in transportation, in digital infrastructure and health careucture. and we have been in kenya for a very long time. just about the 30 years of our inception. the way we do our work, of bringing together private sector with key infrastructure projects to address that age-old problem the cost of developing projects do is provide grant funds for the activities that help to define and prepare projects. technical assistance, feasibility studies and pilot projects. with taking that concept into a well-defined project th attract the

financing that's critical to implementation. not enough to just projects. we have to build partnerships. so we conductu! partnership building activities. we bringegations to the united states to see our technologies and also to engage policymakers, our regulators, our sure that we touch the parts of ecosystem help the implementation of projects. procurement is one of them. we have a global procurement initiative in which we train procurement officials in life cycle cost analysis, best determinations, which frankly just makes sure that we're all competing level playing field and we work hard to connect with financiers so our partners see the benefit of that. i'll stop there. >> excellent. i think you alli was saying that. now, i would like to go back. michael, i hope you do not mind starting with a lady, i

alwars let me go back toilet know you're part of the -- back to you. i know you're part of t brother. i just want to let us know what you actually do what your organization is all about. you're the managing partnerrs. what brought you toya? and can you tell us what >> i absolutely can. thank you for having us and i he berns brothers is truly an organization not just one or and i love energy right? i'm glad with my esteemed panelist to my left because her energy contagious. but to just give you a quickover view of what we do -- quick overview of what we do aszation. we're a full service holding company that actually holds about six organizations umbrella. every organization has -- underneathlla. every organization has the mission to drive change through the comm we do that in so many different ways. we have a talent and culture company that focuses organizations, how do we drive change throughing of the employees the people inside organizations. we have a markethose

and communication company. train someone but you need to communicate with people. we do both large and small srep events.h, you can communicate but at some point in time you need to bring people togeth we have a membershipd beer to open up a location right of nairobi in a new city called tattoo city. and then also we do a lot aro wellness and p*erp. and the reason why we are here is tied to our six business line which is dedicated strictly to the of africa ands called -- and it's. we truly believe that the future of not just africa kenya, but the future of this be found on the continent of africa in places like kenya. e dedicated the past five years working on bringing organizations across thelobe to recognize, understand demystify what they think they think africa is so they can tap into this amazing resour that is the talent of africa. the talent of kenya.

>> thank you invest. this is really exciting. i'd like to turn now to the next i don't even know where to start terms of introducing this gentleman. he's very bold. and he is somebody who has an advanced knowledge on semiconductor manufacturing. if you know what semiconductor means, this is very niche and very s skill. people around the world are trying to have access to he decided to go to africa and establish that, not only that, kenya. can you plain mo what really brought you also going to kenya. can you thankthank you for hosting us and beinghe moderatinger of this amazing really thanks to the chamber talk about the things we do. my name is dr. tony githinji.

semiconductor technology is something we've heard about but it is difficult for us even as we to think about semiconductor technology chips manufacturing in africa. so it gives me great pleasure that we have such an industry taking root in our country. in no small part that has been t created includingission u.s. mission in support of the kenya government. what we do and what trying to do is diversify the global supply chain. global supply chain by definition is a very relationship between suppliers and demand that bring in materials, advanced manufacturing technology and so on. and is in the news so much now is it's because elevated itself to where it borders on global security, national security and otherwise. it is also very important to say that semiconductors are ubiquitous and that means that can

address the majority of the problems we have, whether it's in health care, advanced communication satellite, you know. think that bringing this industry into kenya significant because the workforce in that country ys 25in the median of what we wy 2050. africa will have the youngest and largest -- 25% of the global in africa. what i have found about kenwe're in kenya is rate of advanced technology is extremely high from health care and others. and now in the area of technology, i'm happy to say i represent over 100 oyees of whom 70% are powerful young women. you got to give an applause for that. [applause] >> wow, wow, wow, wow. this is wonderful. >> and they have managed to absorb such manufacturing process and made our country very proud. so that's why we're in kenya and why we'll continue to pushsiness partners and united states government, the kenyan government, to give this impetus all the energy that we need to tranorm af kenya.

>> wow. this is really impressive. th for that. and i hope you'll be expanded. we'll come back to it. want to -- of course with you somebody does not need an introduction but we have to do you have been working on the continent for a very long time. and the reason i'm saying that is because you're one of the largest u.s. investors in the power i believe you have close to 1.5-g igawatt of energy and 3,000 transmission. on the continent. can you tell us the continent? i mean, more spe kenya, and what is my hydro all about? >> yea it like a very long time that i've been working on theo+ about we are energy investors i'd say until the last few years, until mix of thermal power and renewable

energy. we're now pretty much renewable energy and we are bu at the moment a new in hydropower. you say why hydropower? it's because at cost and affordable. some people think that hydropower does not compete with solar because price of solar on grid which these days can be very low, five cents, six cent, even in the middle east, three cents per kilowa i att hour, where hydromight s but it works 24 hours a day. you don't have to switch it off at night. so we're using a new type ofture pwaoeup that has been --ur of turbine that has been re-engineered in san francisco by a they've joined forces

mother company to create my hydro-- myhydro. whichlso by the way is a woman-owned company. annching that right now in the congo. but looking at the sites we're goingatory ro agrees in places places like south africa, cameroon, a number of idea is to launch small hydropower siteso many of them eventually, and sell what we as affordable electricity. sohat's the sort of myhydroin a nut shell and that's what we'rin heavily at the moment. as regards my african experiences, i've had -- i mean, my life has been africa. i love africa. i've had fantastic and have had some bloody awful ones too. it is not always the ea place on the planet. there's challengeshere.

so i'm a -- let me come quickly. kenya my favorite. i really love kenya and i think kenya is going to great places. i've got to know the leadership there since the last e see it at the moment is what's happening is the center of gravity for investors in africa is shifting africa to the northwards and northeast and shift where i think money's going to flow into kenya in a huge, huge way. >> excellent. excellen [appla michael, i hope you don't mind, coming back to you. i was intrigued when you weryou spoke about tattoo and what is interesting is that you decided go -- leave the u.s. and go to kenyaond g and establish a call center. can you tell us a little that experience and how as

an investor in kenya, what has been that experience for you. >> absolutely. so one of the actual co-sponsors for this an organization by the name of itself a very ambitious mission of building cities on the continent of africa. and the business case is actually pretty sound/prolific. if we truly want to bring multinational o kenya, then we can't just do a patchwork exercise on the current infrald from the ground-up. so ren tkefber actually -- rendeavor has built a city and they have laid the water systems, they have laid the electrical by the time the city is fully occupied it, will have a population of when we talk to people about this, they have a hardwhat this is. because we're not talking about building a residential complex

about building a strip mall. we're talking about building a city. and when we decided to partner with partner also with an organization called c.c.i. global which is one of the largest employer in kenya, we said, we need to do it right. because if we do it right, then we position kenya that knocks down any bices or biases or misperceptions that people have of the cou over the next 10 to 15 years to continue toot only grow what is tatu city but bring resourcesnal companies in so they can employ this amazing in kenya. and we had the honor of doing a ago where president ruto and the ambassador were able to help us open up our partners' state of the art call center where they will employ 5,000 kenyans on day one. and so that was all about highlightingof africa but more importantly, helping to reposition the narrative kenya. >> thank you very much. this is r

[applaus i know you about the tools that you have, the the ustda and a lot of people really don't much about those tools. if you are an investor here in here in the u.s. interested in investing in africa, you ustda, allow them to wo they'll finance your feasibility study. if you have a bright idea. all those tools that unfortunately are not well known around. so i would like for you to tell us how can people really those information? but i also want you to expand on the that you have right now with the the significance of this major, major initiative for the kenyan. >> thank you so much for that question. and i will start with the partnership with tony and the amazing s.t.l. because it is groundbreaking.

tony speaks to the actual work of s.t.l. say is we are using our tools, inact, will right after this be signing th planning for expansion semiconductor manufacturing, chip manufacturing facility. this is important for a number of reasons. number one, the jobs and the expertise that will reside in secondly, the ability to really be that technological regional hub that will be representing the united states, omit the opportunities for our companies providing components of will be as of this nature. so the potential for exports is then as you alluded to which i frankly find the most compelling reason is the

workforceha developed. the focus particularly amongst women. i lab in april as part of the american kenya's summit business summit. and visit with you onsite and it was an amazing experience. the young people arengaged. where it's located is about two to three hours, 2 1/2 hoursrobi. and you might think, ok, young people would be focused on nairobi. all nierri's beautiful they're doing. and so to be able to contribute point out, it's not just ustda. received support from usaid through swee been able to coordinate as a government build upon the opportunity to really bring this fruition and the impact is enormous. i will close to say you can reach us t we are here, our regional

director develops our projects. we will make sure to make ourselves known to you because we want to hear from you and help to catalyze your investments on the continent. >> thank you, thank you very much. i think this is very audience. tony, i want to really to comment on at from ustda, what, you know, what difference did it make in your business? but also as a diaspora-owned business. to expand and probably proffer advice to all the folks who are still thinking, how did your experience in and what advice do you have to offer? >> thank youthank you for that. this ustda grant isií an enabling grant. in other words, it's -- tuck frame -- if you can frame the semiconductor ecosystem, it is extremely it requires a very specialized

workforce. it r facilities that are up to par with international standards. because the building of chips cannot be done in an ad planned out right. the marketplaces have to be found. the road maps about how you go abou established. and these are all outputs of the ustda that we're getting and, yes, i was a bit remiss, we did get a $1 million grant from usaid for capacity already seeing great results f one of the things that we always have to keep in mi the advancements in exponential technology, still need a workforce. you still need to develop upskill, reskill our engineers. the vice chancellor of the university might peter and the partnership we have with them is one that allows for us tobetween the academic side and the commercial sid output of the universities is consi industry practice. so we have shovel-ready engineers coming out of that institution. about how to inspire other

united states companies and frankly companies around the world to inves kenya. i think ambassador an amazing job in demystifying kenya and making it clear to us, all of us that there's great opportunities in that cou we have the p.s. of trade here who is doinggotiatinging the strategic trade and investment partnership. we have our i. kr-frpt t. -- i. kr-frpt t. ps here who is guiding usework of how to get in country and start your business and make i say is of course clear it with your wifeer. [laughter] i'd like to thank my wife and kids they're watching right now, they allowed us the opportunity to invest in country. clear it with your wife fi then come in with enough vision that it's not just the kenyan market. it is an african market. east and central africa is five hundred million c whether you're in hyperscaling like google ort's an ecosystem there's enough for all of us. kenya first, come and

see us. take our eleke the example of other businesses that are working there. and take confidence in t fact that i believe the u.s. government is behind us and relationship this 06-year relationship -- 60-year relationship thawe hav is critical to making sure we secure these you said it all. [applause] d ke to come to you paul. you journey on the continent but if you have to speakrs from the u.s. and also from in your view policy change that sector really move to the next level? because kenya is doing quite well specifically on the áa rehewable leading on this in sub-saharan africa in terms of the composite of renewable in mix. so please offer some -- >> let's talk kenya more globally, not just on the renewable energy.

i wear several hatsn of another similar organization promotes trade and investment with africa. and we're all out there all the time trying to convince other american investors that the risks in africa are not think. you know, a l from europe. and there they don't seem t the same level of risk as they do here. so i've experienced this overny years decades of seeing this reluctance from american companies. kenya kenya, it's not going to be long before you meet an american who is a small startup or he's working for a big multinational, they're everywhere. thatof all, it's got a good legal

the legal sys kenya. it has strongtions and people trust those institutions. and it's business-minded and it endence. kenya has been the r force of east africa. the moment in real-time becoming -- as i said, the certainty of gravity has shifted in that direction for investors and the investors that i know all wan now. they all want to start in kenya. everybody knows about are know what a great successhe business environment has been in rwanda. relative standards. >>ur want to be in ke want to ber

places in africa. but i think kenya is ahead everyone. >> absolutely, -- [applause] that's why we are all hereat partnership. i would like to maybe some final reflection. what would you like to add more that policy space? what do you think needs to do to be done to alloowthe next level? >> absolutely. i'll just take 30 the opportunity of serving in the u.s. army for 13 men and women and one of the first lessons that was ever taught to lieutenant was that any ti you invest with dollars and cents before you invest in hearts and minds is going to be a poor long-term investment. think about kenya and as we talk about this concept of challenge us to all look beyond like the dollars and the r.o.i. in the form of p.n.l. type do to invest in this amazingl ultimately make our dollars and cents investments g a

higher rate. and if there is anyplace to invest in hearts and, it is in the country of kenya and i invite all not already doing so to join us on the mission. [applause] >> excellent, excellent, t. well said. we started with you, we want to end with you. do you have any final reflection this whole experience of ustda on the continent and in kenya? >> if i may, i'll split my time with tony should have the last word. but just to say that there's whole con constellation of u.s. government agencies who are woble us to think of the hearts and minds partnerships and to implement on the fantastic initiatives that our government has framed our engagement in. we are here to serve. we are working look forward to working with you endeavors. over to you. >> that's very kind of you are this. there's not aon in our time than

that of partnership. andcx!o partnership comes from shared visions shared values, and i have to really give our president his excellency a lot of cuntry is taking with respect to the ruleure that we're subscribing to the best practices in trade and investment. looking at the basics of educatioicn wh things that we do. but really we come here with a lot of gratitude to ustda especially as you heard that we're signing a grant and really do lisa heather mike in kenya and others, who have done such a wonderful job in showing us howce of the greatest economy in the world so that they can support all the things had and all the a doiere. to me it's gratitude and hoping we can push this to the next level. >> excellent. thank you so much. ladies and gentlemen, we have come to the end wonderful conversation. you'll hear i'm sure from the n himself. kenya is indeed open forbull hear

from all these formidable panelists that invest in kenya. so i would like for you to join me and really thank this distinguisheanel. thank you very much. please welcome ruth, president and chief c.f.o. of afl bet and going -- g. it is wonderful to be here with everyone and such an honor to spend time this week with presidents biden and ruto.

secretary ray mannedo for -- raimondo to what hastr an important series of announcements. the culmination of a lot of work ver quite an extended time. i think it's fair to say we are an absolutely extraordinar just the anniversary of an important bilateral relationship, but at a time when technology is opening upet of opportunities. new possibilities, new solutions. when i talk to google scientists who haveee since inception, they praoetedlyay the most exciting time in computer science. beca that it can unlock for economic growth, ad in health care addressing inequities in education, dealing with climate-related issues and so much more. and so today i'm very proud to be here because we're announcing new investmenttm ensure that kenya and africa broadly can reaof what this technology can do. we're really pr in kenya 17 years ago which for

og earliest days of our life as a company. we began with an investment in kenya, our first in nairobi. and what we saw a young entrepreneurial population, a country that was possibilities of technology. that's even as many of you in the room have witnessed firstnd. a hub of innovation in africa, a digitally savvy workforce, a regional financial and logistics hub, and a leading destination for f.d.i. and forpital. and so our announcements today from google really we've been on with president ruto and it's really in three key areas. connectivity security and skilling and i'm going to quickly touch on each one of them. in terms of connectivity, reliable internet connectivity is foundation on which we can unlock all the rest that i'm goin through and this week we announced the construction of the first connecting kenya and australia. it's agoes through

africa, then down to south africa, then connects to australia. we've named this cable moja. [applause] for those of you who were notauding, it's because you don't know swahili and in swahili that means very fitting name for our cable. we're really proud of whatp increase reachl kefbgttificity on the -- connectivity on the african continent. we're really proud we built this with our partner who is also here today and liquid telecomwho have been our implementing partne built the terrestrial route which was a true engineering feat running most difficult routes but built to design to carry on solar power. where there is no grid proud of this and in particular we embarked on t years ago and the recent outages that many in the room are very aware of underscore the imperative for this strong resilient connectivity. second, one of the greatest threat government, every individual is

cybersecurity. so to fortify kenya, google is partnering with kenya on cybersecurity as theyces, employing google's cybersecurity shield to protect kenyan citizens on their platform a really proud that governors around the world are turning to google's cybersecurity shieo defend against cyber attacks, an area in which we've invested for and then finally to unlock all of this, it's about sure that everyone everywhere has the ability tohat is the technology and the opportunities that come. i spent and what i saw there is you can't have sustainability ensure that we have inclusive growth and so we are very proud to be expanding our digital training programs ca with google and what we've announced is that we're million of training through our digital skilling program, sprinters initiative, to ensure that everyone has access to the training that then gives them the opportunities that are available with this technology. and what we're already seeing is the impact.

the impact of a.i. applied to so many solutions.so as an example one of the places that really i found quite moving is in maternal health. what we're seeing with a.i. is youan nonspecialists to go into rural markets and get to a hospital when we need to intervene. the notion of what a.i. early diagnosis for inteenin to really democratize what is the benefit of health care, is just one application. we can see it in education, innd so many more. so we're excited to have this foundation, a foundation on foundation that's a continuation of a journey that was started some time ago. and look forward to our continued investments in strengthening the relationship in you all for being here and all that you're individually and collectively doing. thank you. [applause] >> please welcome our secopag opportunity. supporting the digital ecosystem to inclusion. ♪

♪5u >> good morning, everyone. i'm pleased to be leading us in a conversation about a topic th has been at the forefront of the discussions this week, as celebrate the historic state visit of the president of kenya to the united that is really the question of scaling opportunity in the digital my name is kendra. to serve as

president of the center. in the it time, i'm going to just let you know that the bios our esteemed leaders are available on q.r. codes that are available in the roomsng to have a chance to, as they say allow those who need introduction to present themselves to allo my right. again, with a person who needs no introduction, the vice chair and president of microsoft, mr. brad smith. welcome. >> thank you. >> would you talk to us about the connection microsoft has kenya? >> we've been in kenya a long time. it's been a huge source of development than 500 employees software africa development center in nairobi. well. this has been an extraordinary week and it think it's just so fitting that today is the cap stone for it. out, i think, investment that is being driven, not just by thel the future, but the reality of the present.

for us at all about partnering with others. it starts with the g-42, our most important partner for investing inenya. and a billion-dollar commitment to build a data center run green geothermal energy. know kendra will get more into it, but it's about conne it's about skilling, it's about securi a.i. to work not only in english swahili, with a swahili-english large language model. it's about making kenya a trusted hub for all oeast africa, with a trusted data zone being put together with the help of the kenyan government, all of upport of the u.s. and the u.a.e. governments as well.you so much. that's quite a connection to kenya joined by our esteemed panelist in a moment but let me turn to dr. jamesone who is an eminent person

and needs no introduction. but would you tell us about the that equity group holdings is leading not just in kenya but on beh continent, just a brief introduction? >> thank you very much. equity group is a financial group with operations in eastern, central forecasts on the bottom of the, one of the most fi crucial, financial groups from refugees, socio safety net beneficiaries all way, my he could, small medium and we're big of applications that microsoft offers in the region. >> thank you. i'm pleased that we are joined by mastercard. apologies for being late. i guess in this context the conversation with president ruto. otherwise i connection to africa goes years.

mastercard tried to unlock the entrepreneurial power of africa by providing financial inclusion solutions, giving an opportunity to be part of the digital what does it mean? it means making it possible payments for people and businesses that's what we do at mastercard. and w 1.4 billion people, we have to make this available to everybody because long-term market building, that is commercial sustainability and of course and every country that's a big unlock to really delivee of the digital economy. host of our global financial inclusion lab where we these solutions and the learnings we had in africa around the we're invested in africa 45 countries and we're powering the digital economy there. the thing, though, is the digital economy is not just ab bout a broader set of digital services. we just the stage there's a lot of things that microsoft

companies and i think here's a big unlock and i kenya should be around cating the efforts of the private sector, really putting the might in the sector to work in a coordinated of us doing individual things. so i'm excited announce a new initiative, initiaed african development bank and mastercard called the made alliance africa. made is an acronym that stands for mobilizing access to the digital economy, maid alliance remember the maide part. and basically what the effort is, to deliver on a goal of pulling 100 million pbusinesses into digital services over the course of the next years. we're excited about founding partners. two here on the stage. microsoft and equity bank. and the whole idea works as follows. imagine a farmer in kenya. needs to -- needs $100 to buy seeds. imaginection is

digitized and it's digitized in a way that offline and an online environment because you have both ike available to equity bank and equity bank can give his farmer because there's a data track record for that. and imagine this same digitized solu g visibility to market prices and allows the farmer to be connected to global arng prices. and a virtual circle begins. that is what the alliance is trying to do. one company another company in this case mastercard, provides the digitization, there's a set of foundations that provide and various other educational aspects of it. it all comes together in declared communities. so you have an change, instead of everybody doing their own thing. very hard to execute. that's why 10 years, but some ofinent and the world are on it. very exciting. >> that is exciting.s what maide stands for so people remember it. >> mobilizing access to the digital economy in alliance. ma that's connected in

some ways. we have some collusion here on the stage, we have three of youhave mixed up the seating. i believe that's connected to some of the wo you i to action from the vice president. is that connected asely. so back i think president harris sd, w the private sector to step it up, very clear call to action, here's the answer. >> wonderful. thank you. and congratulations for all you're doing in that space. sherrill, welcome. the work that black ivy group is doing in kenya. >> thanks. it's ae the chamber and certainly thank you for hosting this panel. and i'm r about all of the transformations that are happening here becausewe are the off taker. so maybe as a place to start is a company that i founded now 10 years ago and have been operating on the ghana, kenya and tanzania. and in doing that what we do is we life's he's essentials. food, housing, health logistics, we build those businesses from scratch to establish a foundation. thenthey are creating the value for the regions and for the p operating. in kenya we have the pleasure of doing food production and our

number one partner are farmers and we are looking at the ways monumentally transfer just even one value chain byguaranteed offtake. we have the privilege of now being a partner with to extend their partnership for three years so we will be ablef transformation and offer the kind of opportunities that guaranteed offtick after they have access to finance, after they have the kind of technical support they need. what t is a market that's going to be consistently there with the kind of pricing that allows them reliabilitiy sreufpbt -- reliably invest in seeds there. we are deeply excited. we know that this means in the endot k.f.c. use 15 containers on the water eve 1.7 metric tons of carbon emissions that not the potatoes will be grown in kenya and they will be processed in kenya and and they will be processed in kenya, ande sold there, so we are very excited about everything that each of yot@ that call to

action but the work that you all are in that digital transmission agenda? brad: sure. i would highlight two aspects here and put them into the context of opportunities and challenges we all have the rtunity to address. the first is connectivity. there's 54 million people who kenya, and we need to bring the internet really at and what they we have to remember for all of is a continent where 43% of thepopulation still lacks access to electricity. and in so many ways, while backbone is indispensablet is the last mile that is the most difficult, especially when people do not have access to icity. but i think there is so much cause for optimism, and it is all about the power of partnerships the point you make it at microsoft, we have been working on this in years, with partnerships with mawingu, the

company whose name is what healy meand in working with coca business model that provides people with electricity and the internet at the brilliant collaboration alluded to it, we have to ensure that this moves forwin a that starts to close the gender gap, and that has been a priority for vice president harr last year when she reached out to people like michael and me and asked us, what can we do to help across africa? about three extraordinary women. and whateek. focus on scaling, as we are, as you heard as you are and google and others are, we need to recognize that we, especially in the tech sector are an industry where womenre underrepresented. you see this in the united states and in kenya.

for aiit is continuing, this divide, yet this is the time to close it. and i think that too is lling for new initiatives of the source that are being launched here this week but i th bring us all together on a sustained basis. kendra: i as you note, if there is no access, then there is no ability to scale, and thoses those gaps continue to widen, it only creates more inequality and for that and for the opportunity to call ondw a fourth extraordinary woman this morning, cheryl mills, on our panel. in this conversation, that we are talking about scalingin the digital, but how mucconversation. i think that speaks to the impact that the has. it is sector, it impacts everything. i might ask cheryl, you haven't t government side as well as the business side and seeing the partnership and seeing it i work, can

you share how stakeholders some of both in here in the united states come across the continentorcoll stment and trade partners digital economy but also in the diaspora to be part of the effort. cheryl: thank you. thank you for that. i had the pur and privilege of working in the state departme, wiobama, secretary clinton in champi go about in so many emerging markets makhow do we think about the digitization with the digital economy and make sure we are implying those areas that are impactful particularly across africa could obviously come agriculture is a big part. when we were sitting on the government side, it was hardest figure out how to get together in partnership, so it is partnerships already happening.

but i do think the most importantng is understanding what it means to be accountable. we think aboutarday we are standing here on the stage when really it is the 15 years, 10f ind the scenes and then being accountable w done their part. that accountability is starts to are, you know important partners deliver on our promises and commitments in a timely way. we have to have the leadership of kenya and people and can yet to speak to the partnershipstheir needs in an intentional way about what thing what matters for them. private sector can crowd in and be the kind of thoughtful and delibs sought, o delivering what was soughti, it is delivered in a meaningful way, and i'm excited to kendra: that's wonderful. thank you for that fit i want to sort of stick with you maybe to help us go through some thoughts, and i want to work with you -- start with you cheryl, and work our way down to brad.

thinking of technologies and pl scaling technology in the inno. a system of which these leaderships are a part, at the heart of the partnership. we talked about government's involvement, we talked about business involvement, but we have about regional institutions and stakeholders. perhaps put some closing thoughts, if i could ask each of you to share sector, in collaboration with regional really strengthen auth drive innovation, the kenya and the continent? cheryl: regionalditions are often very close to the ground in a very different way, and i think that means we are expertise lean into be able to understand the kind of for information that we seek. i haveof having had the night safe government investing through usaid with us, allowing us to scale, which is we've also been looking at some of the other banks who are ther right on the ground and can make a difference. from my, the opportunity is in recognizing each individual's role, each they can be excellent.

i think when we do t an orchestra, everybody is playing their part, and that's what i'm hoping they can do more of. thank you. anletting me be here today. it's nice to be here with everyone. kendra: thank you. amtion, please. michael: kate is a huge undertakng up the digital economy for africa. this will requireand entirely new business cases 10 years until payback and so forth. you needed private sectors and the regional institutions like the african bank to come in and the risk some ofu need government to come in and try out new things, to come to the table and be flexible, evolving regulation for new, commercial models, come together, because it cannot be a philanthropic exercise. public-private partnership in a coordi fashion is absolutely essential. dr. mwangi: three things. first one together to make it affordable micro small enterprises

and we need philanthropies make that happen. the second one government initiatives, particularly to diat that level, if we don't digitize, we don't digitize government, they are huge players and consumers. whether g2c they could the leadership. the last one we'll need to do is ensure nobody is left behind, so we must assure digitization for equal opportunities. kendra: brad? brad: i would underscore two things. regional is efficient and government leadership is for creating the kind of stable, rule-based framework that will open up a larger market that brings together the entire east africa on, in terms of the data how and data and privacy and security laws that

are needed, and that is global open up more opportunities for growth. because in the world t just countries ing with other countries of 50 million come o regional collectives of countries, like you seeeurope. but the other thing that is so important for us to leave here with, look at where we are, the american chamber of commerce. this is about business. and i think it is a good time to recognize that in part because of the great leadership of people like ruto, the united states government,m investment, in part, as michael this is the right time for american business to it is eopportunity, when you look around the world at marketreaching that point, that you can see them really s and i hope that the whole american business community will look at that today and this week. it is smart business as well

[applause] kendra: way to wrap thiskc ainly president ruto knows that kenya means business and is open to business, and he has added anot the opportunity to work in tandem, to promote the partnerships like the ones ushering in the digital space, to connect the -- expandy, so we can attend to filling those gaps. k you all for giving us some food for thought today and to learn from you and learn more about doing in your perspective we are promoting digital inclusion. please join methanking these tremendous panelists. [applause] >> please welcome the honorable gina raimondo, u.s. secretary of commerce. ♪sec. raimondo: hello

good morning. how is everyon? yeah. i am fired up. we are having a fantastic week with the kenyans. we put a lot of effort into it, and it has jbetremendous few days. it has been welcome president ruto forvisit, and i've had the ple and honor to join him for a number of events, with president biden, ambassador whitman, who is doing an unbelievableob.

everybody give a hand to ambassador whitman. [applause] we were together in kenya in awe meg determination commitment expertise, it is ki h ruto, biden, the investor, and i were together wednes with a group of kenyan and u.s. business leaders talk can do together. and of course, last night we had you could just feel it in the room -- the excitement in the roum we have, and where we will go from here.the key at the and now is how momentum of this historic visit to do what is next? we cannot go home, in my case which street, in your case, back to kenya, to, we cannot just go home, feel excited for the weekend, and move on.

we can't do it. president ruto said, in the u.s.-kenyan economic we have to go from ideas to and opportunities to investment. that is whatry one of us has to think. i'i do to take the excitement, the buz momentum# it into an investment. by the way, has been the announcements we have made from google, huge announcement infrastructure, digital upscaling of millions of kenyans. microsoft, the new dataen upscaling mastercard we just here, coca-cola over $175 llinthat is fantastic. now more, right? we do even more than that? i think under presiden ruto's leadership, your leadership, what is happening entrepreneurial

activity in kenya, kenya is leading the way to change the africa, the whole continent. kenya is a scene of opdemocracy, rule of law, entrepreneurial,population, a culture that encourages risk-taking. that is a very big deal. not true everywhere. and, increasingly, it either on behalf of u.s. investors and entrepreneurs and t and so i was there a month and i felt it i saw it firstvisory council on doing business in africa, i metwith women leaders in technology, i met with entrepreneurs, i met with the large u.s. multinationals, i also met with venture capitalists. andading my book, when i was preparing for the visit kenya attracts four times

as much venture capital percapita and in absoluten africa. and after being there and experiencing it, i see why. why. so the truth is, the policies that president ruto's administration is pursuing his deep and abiding commitment to democrpa and the entrepreneurialism of the kenyan opportunities, changing the narrative,frankly, on the whole continent. the thing i have heard over and over again throughout this week, and when i came ba kenya from the business leaders i took with me to -- i did not realize how much opportunity there was. hathe door is open, and we have to walk through. the work you are doing here today will help us chart a future of shared prosperity, not aid- though we do need aid --

but more investment, opportunity, entrepreneurship, and trade, for sustainable economic development on the contineni feel like we have done so much, but honestly, we arwe are just at the beginning. so i am thrilled to be here. i am committed. president ruto said to me, "gina, you are a friend of kenya." it's true, it's true i'm a friend, but even more thani'm committed to continuing the work that you all are working on every single day. so i thank you i want to thank president ruto and his i want to thank my incredible counterpart who has so this work to thank senator coons, who has been committed to kenyaor decades. [applause] yep, senator coons. if he were up here, he would be

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