tammy just did it with the most buoyant good humor. those are two great strategies we can be using. bob woodson, you get to be the cleanup hitter. i think we have the bases full with the first three presentations. i want to amend the bob woodson introduction to make all of you aware that the great paul ryan, chairman of the house budget committee, the man with the courage to take on obama on fiscal and health care issues and who debated him into a jelly on more than one occasion, paul ryan has gone to school with bob woodson to under school -- understand the inner city. he went to school with bob woodson to understand the inner city and understanding helping themselves regardless of disability. you are helping him develop a wonderful conservative leader for the future. we are grateful to you for that. can we be post-racial? >> the highest form of maturity is to be self-critical.

i think it is safe to say that bill bennett says conservativism will never be a popular movement as long as it is perceived to be against the interests of minorities. in many ways, we have earned that perception. as bill also said that when liberals see blacks, they see a sea of it comes and conservatives see a sea of aliens. it is important to acknowledge that in the 1960's when conservatives talk about limited, small government, hostility to central government it was not for central government intervention in the states, we would not be sitting here.

just knowledge in the past doesn't mean we aren't stuck there and it changes as our circumstances change. back in the 1960's, it was important for central government intervene, but today central government interferes with ability. you cannot generalize about black community anymore any other. there's a poster in my office written by bill raspberry when he was a reporter for the post. it's as poor negroes will not benefit from the gains of the civil rights movement. middle-class blacks walk through but they did not. that divide still exists today. 80% of my closest friends are something. they came in an old school bus and the reporter went into the high crime black area and asked an 80-year-old man what he thought about the he said to bring him down here so they would get rid of the drug dealers.

low income blacks have a different agenda on the issues of race than anyone else. if we want to get race off the table, then we must join in, and community with the least of god's children who are struggling in the black community where we have a 9/11 every three months. when you go in and ask those people if race is the most important thing on their mind, they will tell you know. it seems to me the conservative community must join in, and community to adjust those

problems. going to those communities and go into those households where children are being raised where they are not dropping out of school and find out why those areas are able to achieve in the face of these barriers when others cannot. conservatives should join in common cause with those remedies to address the needs of god's children and they should be the ones, the 20 homeless young black men who graduated who went to college from homeless shelters studying by the light of their mothers cell phones yet they graduate valid taurean. they should be the face of the republican conservative movement. our mission has to be to demonstrate to people, as i'm taking him into these communities and he's seeing them achieve against these jobs. -- against these odds. you need to help build institutions in those low income neighborhoods so people can get some reward. conservatives want to know what agenda is just the needs of the

least of these, joined in, and community and conferences like this, have a panel of low income people who have achieved against the odds, homeless kids, people who are working. we really need to promote the remedies among the least of god's children and that is how you become post-racial. [applause] >> bob goodson -- thank you, eloquent.

we got back almost 30 years to the beginning of the independence institute. bill armstrong challenged his friends and supporters across colorado to think about it. i love your idea of a panel of people who have exceeded against the odds. let's audition that at the centennial program and let's have it on the 2015 western conservative summit agenda for sure. [applause] many hoped and i believe it had to do with a lot of the votes he garnered whether they would admit it or not but they hope

that the election of the son of an african father and caucasian mother to the highest office in the land and the most powerful office on earth, the presidency of barack obama that began 2009, that somehow you could just mark the date and it would be the ushering in of a post-racial america. we see angry, poisonous rhetoric that seems to suggest race has become more instead of less salient under the presidency of mr. obama. what do we just make of these? >> the election of barack obama does show a shift. it could not have happened in 1950. for that, we say, thank god. on that, the underpinning of the

obama administration it is not a post-racial philosophy but it exacerbates all of the ugly history of the country. it is limiting the very people it racial policies are supposed to help by making them more dependent and not less dependent. the democrats have mastered the art of making racial arguments to solve economic problems. people are not poor because they are black. they're poor because they don't have money. [applause] if you have an economic problem, you need an economic solution. a racial solution to an economic problem will always be a bait and switch game where you use

the plight of one group of people to create benefits for another. [applause] >> tammy, when you were talking about the goal and scale on the left to divide us, lay less, silence and neutralize us so they can have way with the agenda, cynical or well-intentioned, i have to think of the atmosphere emanating from barack obama, michelle obama, eric holder, white, black, latino members of the obama administration seem to illustrate your very point. >> it will be articulated by all of the left regardless of race and that's kind of the point. it's the proof in the pudding, if you will. they cannot sit here on a panel and have an actual debate on the

nature of the issues themselves so they must make you able to engage in the first place. you might have an african-american president but the arguments are leftist. these are not race arguments. as become up to 2016, it's already happening with hillary clinton. you are hearing about how you are all sexist if you ask the wrong question or if you don't like her. fact is, america and the conservative movement will be the face of people like neil love and allen west, true conservatives who, regardless of their complexion, i wanted the first female president, too. but not just any woman.

we want the right woman. this is the argument. you will see the same strategy implemented in that regard coming up to 2016 as you have heard the last few years. >> just quick comments. we will be post-racial when a black man can propose marriage to a white woman and she can say no. [laughter] i think we've reached that point when a country can elect a black president and he can be incompetent and we can say he is incompetent. the last point i would like to make to say to republican candidates and the conservative movement is when it comes to

race, you get all squishy. the first thing you want to do is validate in the name of reaching out to the black community. i said the paul ryan when he asked me to take him around, i said, let me just give you one piece of advice. the moment you accept a ride from john lewis, our relationship ends because we need to stop celebrating crucifixion. that is the story of christ. >> preach it. >> it is the resurrection we need to be celebrating. [applause] >> lightning round. i said we would be looking at examples that you could suggest of leaders who are out there, names we could recognize or maybe unknowns that we need to learn.

who's doing this right to help us exemplify an america that is not divided, labeled, silenced, paralyzed, neutralized? do you have a name or two of people who are doing it right? black, white, latino? >> the whole latino thing is a great mystery to me. if you want to know who really believes in america, who really thinks that america is the greatest country on the world, it is some of those people who are traveling across central america and snaking through our borders at night. they are the ones who believe in that statue of liberty. i'm here to tell you if you want to end illegal immigration, it's rocket science -- it's not rocket science. we've done it in the past. it's not about the holding fences.

it's about enacting legal immigration reform that is market-based, skills-based and says if you want to come here, work hard, make a family, we want you here. when i think about the future and we can better learn to talk about this issue, do you know that hispanic immigrants are more likely to live in a home with two parents, a father that works, then are non-hispanic whites? do you know the five safest big cities in america, all five, had populations of large hispanics? the safest big city in america is el paso, texas. it's been that way three years running and it is 82% hispanic and 25% immigrant.

so when we start talking about a post-racial america. we have to look back to our immigrant past. it's bad that people come in here really girly, but if you are a mexican man with a high school education and you do not have a father, mother, son, daughter, and you go down and apply for a visa, you will wait 125 years before your name comes up. if you are indian or chinese, you will wait between 20 and 40 before your name comes up. we can solve our border problems. we can solve what people like to call the invasion. all we have to do is go back to a market-based immigration system that says come here if you want to work. come here if we need your skills

and we do. >> my dance card is filling up. we will have you back. i guess some of you here will have to catch tammy, buster, bob, linda during the break and ask them for the names of those leaders that i wanted to put in nomination. we are up against our time. this has been a terrific panel. think stu linda chavez, bob goodson, tammy bruce, buster soaries. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> frederick douglass once stated, i'm a republican. a black dyed in the wool republican and i intend to belong to no other party than the party of freedom and progress. those words describe the mindset

of a true public servant dedicated to the benefit of society beyond the party title and beyond the name. the louisiana state senator elbert guillory is the same. when he asked why he made such a decision to switch he said it was the right decision because the individual must we free to pursue his own dreams, free from governmental control. senator guillory has been an example of leadership and distillate example for all public servants across america. he has dedicated his life through the vietnam war serving in the united states navy after which he obtained his law degree

from rutgers and has been practicing law for over 30 years. he uses these experiences in his decision-making. he is also one with the community investing in the community of louisiana for nonprofit organizations, and being one with his constituents serving them on the judiciary committee, health and welfare, other educational communities. he's an example for what leadership is supposed to be across america. it was said by martin luther king, junior, that progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. every step towards the goal of justice requires sacrifice, struggle, and suffering. the tireless exertion and passionate concern of dedicated individuals. ladies and gentlemen, i'm privileged to present to you a man dedicated to his cause for justice, for opportunity, for freedom. a man for a fight in what is right and a man who will die with his boots on, senator elbert guillory. [applause]

>> good afternoon. joseph, thank you very much. that was extremely well done. young men like that -- [applause] i see some other young people in this room and i am heartened to see them. i'm equally heartened to see so many types of americans here under one banner, speaking one language, the language of freedom and liberty, but many, many colors of americans. i'm happy to see you here. 14 months ago, i was a democrat. yes, once i was lost but now i am found. [laughter]

for several years, it had been a difficult fit. i was having difficulty in the meetings that we held. i was having difficulty in the votes we were taking as the louisiana democratic party moved further and further to the left and just left me standing there. then one day, the head of the louisiana democratic party, also a senator, said anybody who does not like obamacare would only not like this wonderful idea because of the president's african father. therefore, anyone who does not like obamacare is a racist. i'm sitting in the senate and the phone rings and it's my 104-year-old mother. yes, mother? "elbert lee, did you hear what that woman said?"

yes, ma'am i heard. " did you say anything like that?" i didn't. "are you associated with that? you better be careful because i don't want you to bring dishonor upon our family." [applause] i hung up the telephone and called the registrar of voters in my kantian within a couple of minutes i was a republican. -- i called the registrar of voters in my county. now that i'm here, what are we going to do? 240 years ago, there were meetings like this held in america. america at that time was in difficult straits, as we are today.

people met and talked with each other, trying to decide what we would do, how we would create, what we would create for the future. what kind of nation would there be? that is what we are doing today. the minute, founding fathers, founding mothers, they created a vision of a nation where people could live in freedom, live without government breathing down their next, without government boots on their backs, without some government fingers picking their pockets and a czar telling them how to educate their children. no government central to their vision under today's democrat led organization, this vision has become a nightmare of government intrusion into every minute aspect of our lives. in the early days of the revolution, those minutemen were

the warriors. it was their sacrifice, their energy that threw off the yoke of oppression of king george. today, my brothers and sisters, you, in this room, you are the minutemen. it is out of these days of oppression that we in this room must create a new vision of liberty and freedom, a new america of freedom. [applause] we've had almost a decade of hope and change. it seems like so much more, so much longer. hoping for a job and trying to live off the change in our

pockets. [laughter] you know, the unemployment figures in the black community are so high, i have not seen black unemployment this five and -- this high since the great depression. what is happening in washington, d.c. is bad for all of us under any circumstance. brothers and sisters, we need to chart a new course for america. we need to set forward our vision of the new america. i have today to present to you 10 points that i think the new america should adhere to. first and foremost, america must continue its tradition -- excuse me -- america must continue its tradition as a godly nation, a prayer full nation. godliness -- [applause]

godliness is the birthright of america. prayers in school and public places have been set aside for too long. prayer -- only prayer -- only has the power to lift individuals, families, and nations from a select and disconsolate moments but we have let a small minority come into our house and stop us from praying. this is our house. this is god's house. we must take it back. [applause] a powerful military is very important. powerful, yet marked with smart spending. on this day to day, we have troops stationed in 167 nations.

i did not know planet earth had 167 nations. no one can convince me that we have a burning national interest in 167 nations. across this world. [applause] we need smart and effective military spending. we need a new law. any politician who advocate sending americans into some foreign escapade should have to first send his grandchildren or children to the front lines. if we implement that law overnight, the military will be much more effective because there will be far fewer fat, old men jumping up and down trying to send our young people trying to send our young -- trying to send our young people in harm's way on just a whim. the third point for a renewed america, we should stop the war

on children. we should outlaw abortion on demand. [applause] god gave life. life is precious yet 1.3 million young americans lose their lives every year to abortion. we need to put some viable options into function like adoption and pre-sex education. abortion on demand should not exist. [applause] tax reform, first, we should stop spending taxpayer money unwisely. we should stop spreading it like butter across the world. a flat tax, a percent of income -- [applause]

a percent that everyone knows and everybody pays and everyone pays their fair share. and we would get rid of the irs forever. [applause] point number five, employment. every american should have access to employment, access to work. every american has the right not to work. and every american has the right not to eat. [laughter] we are a caring, loving people, so we assist people who are in need but a bridge over troubled waters should never become a road into the future for generations for anyone. government has an obligation to,

through its policies, promote work. we did not bright enough about the work that has been done under bobby jindal's leadership. for four or five generations, democrats ran the louisiana and we were at the bottom of job creation and employment. economic development. bobby jindal came and we became republican. those republican policies have moved to louisiana from the bottom to number eight in the usa, a perfect example of republican politics, business-friendly politics creating jobs. [applause]

the last two years they've put twice as many peel on social security disability as they have to work. twice as many on the dole as on payroll. a dead man with no sight could see that that's a speeding car heading for a crash. we've got to stop that. sixth point, gun ownership, was inonths ago e washington d.c. and i passed by saw thee house, and i secret service people and the weapons that they used to intect the people who live the white house. those weapons that they have are style high capacity automatic and semi-automatic weapons, exactly the kinds of weapons that this president froms to ban and banish private american ownership.

placity -- duplicity, when hypocrisy. no more important his daughters do not deseven more safety and security than your daughters. are good enough to protect the people in the white house, the family living in the whews, they're good protect your families. [applause] number seven. we must outlaw the garbage that children.o our the violence, the vile language, garbage in our video games, those killer video games, and in our music. all of that garbage does not belong in a civilized society outlawed.uld be we will never stop the culture of violence including all of shooting, we had never stop that until we outlaw the garbage

that we are putting into our young people. it should be outlawed. point. the record of spending of the last 13 years must never again be allowed to destroy america's integrity and to endanger our future. the 17 trillion-dollar debt is unacceptable. if you were bankrupt, sir, if you were near bankruptcy, you your spouse, my darling, tonight this weekend own nails, do your i'm going to do the lawn myself. tonight.ome beans you would do two things. yourould cut back on spending, and you would pay down your debt. our president has present a increases federal spending 63% over the next 10 years, increases our $17 trillion debt to $25 trillion over the next

decade. payingre having gully off $17 trillion, can you that?e almost doubling we're on a bad road. goesf this government down, it's going to take a lot of people down with it and there of pain in this nation and in this world. got to stop the spending. [applause] ninth. education. and proudng supporter extra of public school. but public education has failed america. schools areof our poorly performing, violent, disrupted schools. students graduate and for those few who do graduate they are still, they rank near the of industrialized

nations. it's a failure. we've got to do some things differently. must make industrial education available to students starting at the 6th and 7th grade. we must give families more choices, charter schools and programs that will perfect my families to take their students, their children out of violent badly performing schools, poorly themrming schools, and put into safe performing schools. we must make that choice available. and we must remove the violence, disruptions, those children from our classrooms, they be in therapeutic education al environments. bere their issues can addressed, where they can be can whole so that they become full american citizens. and while they under that other 29nt, the children in the classroom will educationsd their not be destroyed.

[applause] thesoth point, involves middle east. we have two interests in the middle east. oil and israel. let talk about oil first. not need middle eastern oil. [applause] what we need is to let our drill over new land, let them drill horizontally, let them fracture. let them open the pipelines from canada, assist mexico to develop industry. it would help them with jobs and help us with oil. and now israel. we need to take from israel one theirf territory inside border completely around the border and then we need to take land around of arab were in that two-mile zone, should station our troops.

we should have antimissile systems, antipersonnel subpoenas. we should state to the world our clear commitment that no one can send a missile or a rocket into that zone of area of safety and fire. if we do that we will protect of israel and we much more safe here at home. [applause] war.is a this is war. this is not a time for the faint or the queasy of constitution. walk out ofn you here, remember that you are not cream of america, you're the hope of america.

we have to fight this war with all the passion, all of the commitment and all the energy wet we have, and remember fight for the glory of god and children. of his and remember that we fight to bring america back to the mountain top. god speed, god bless you. much.nk you very .enator elbert guillory elbert guillory, louisiana's own. >> wednesday night we'll bring you coverage of the net roots nation conference. includes ae discussion of the super pac, ready for hillary, which drsonly announced 2.5 million in donations over a three-month period. panel.a portion of that #

this is not a campaign, it's focused on building grass roots infrastructure. so for every time that hillary speecht and gives a about recent things that have happened and voter suppression, that,really echoing making sure that our e-mail ont, the key point she's hit and giving peel opportunities to join in the efforts that she's promoting. and then also really just using her as a force of personality. see lot of the imagery you on the facebook page and on the e-mail list and other social channels are things we've done a lot of testing on, that people really respond to, because she is an inspiring

figure. >> you can watch the net roots nation conference wednesday .ight at 8:00 eastern on c-span c-span 3history tv on this weekend, friday night at water gate 40 years later with a cbs special report and president nixon's to the nation. saturday at noon eastern a live program with author john farrell on nixon's life, legacy and the watergate scandal that ended his administration. and sunday night in our series, gerald fordcy, becomes the 38th president of the united states. c-span 3'sd, on american history tv. former president bill clinton sat down with business leaders to talk about investment in africa. included in the discussion were the c.e.o.s of the dow chemical electric andral wal-mart.

this was part of the u.s. africa business forum. this is probably something we should have done a long time ago. there are many heads of state africa and political and business leaders from both continent. want to say that our ofughts are with the leaders low low guinea 'sierra own -- leone. the panelists that i hate

panels that are overdirected. where thet like ones members filibuster. but i do want them to be able to what they have to say about this issue. all want more trade, more ties.ment, better it is generally known that africa is going to grow as it for somewhere between five continent. six of the 10 fasters growing economies in the world are in in thisthey go to seven coming decade. the middle class is growing. but in spite of the $80 billion in foreign investment and the in export we'll see this year, three quarters of in oilxports are still and gassings meltses and diamonds. potential for economic diversification is great. are 650 million cell phone

ofrs on a con tin ebb 900 million people. only 300 million people with electricity. about 170 million people with access.y good internet 23% of the people have a bank account, thanks largely to cell banking. and 5% have a credit card. of obviouse lots options here. the smallf you, number here who are interested in this subject but have not had a lot. with africa, i think it is important to say so that our panelists don't have to say it, the obvious. continent, not a country. and the laws of countries matter, and the practices of the cultures and the opportunities will be different from place to place. panelists havee a lot of experience on all the relevant issues. this conference is well

organized, so this is supposed to be about how business to can increaseacts investment and economic activity. then there's a panel on then there's one on finance, which is a huge deal. then there's one on government action. but i told our panelists not to worry too much because they'll about they some thin constraint and opportunities in these other categories. with that as a background, i to start with jeff, because general electric has been roved this africa for i since 1898.years, and they're about to get the hang of it. ask you, in spite signed almosth i

20 years ago or 15 years ago, and all the things that have done since, it strikes me that we've only barely scratched the surface of what we could and should be doing there. the boat.e're missing we shouldn't have, we should a massive, this is opportunity for american business. so based on your experience what to thewant to say americans mere and what do you want to say to the africans here two thingsone or each much us could do to process?e this >> thanks, mr. president, and let me say thanks again to penny and the president for doing this. i think it's a great step that shows the commitment and the the region has. he the, myy to all of fellow c.e.o.s, the number one local.s get i think too many us conceded this earlier in our careers to mainly because

the u.s. market was so good. if you're an american at my age, a long perfect of time you haven't have to travel much, so we kind of gave africa to the europeans first and to the chinese later. but today it's wide open for us. but you have to get local. so that's number one. the numberancing is one gap at least in the businesses we're in. think iss lacking i investabled say strategies that governments knee to put forward. do a's a right way to power purchase freapt and a wrong way to do a power purchase agreement. so we need more convergence around good standards on behalf governments and we need more risk california there's ofbably $20 million infrastructure investment in this room alone, but you all want to be the second person in someone has taken project risk. what we need is a good coordination of u.s. government,

o eth c, world bank, we'll like that, along with real investors willing to put skin in the game to get that investment ourselves's not kid about financing. and it's got to fit, it got to it's got to fit the african standards. flexible wrist based fbs -- financing. and i think all of us would benefit if there was some regional integration in africa, a southernalliance, alliance, those are the three would put forward. followup ask you one question very quickly. we don't want to get in the middle of washington's political wars, but how important do you think it is for the future prospects of getting more in africa for american business toes renew the export line?

>> there's a lot of things to be critical about big businesses about and there's a lot of thins that don't work in government. but exporting is not one of them. the xm bank isn't one of them. and the fact that we are to sit i think isgue for it just wrong. there's 53 export banks around world. u.s. on a relatively small is is than a lot of what europe does or what china does. but it shows the u.s. cares, and asking g.e., cater pillar, ibm, dow, we're not favors, we're putting our own risk capital up against it. thinkese projects need, i the hand of the u.s. the underwriting of the u.s., if underwrites a deal, risk capital comes in. so punch way above our weight with xm, it speaks to the

country's interest in the region jobs here, lots of jobs. established some remarkable partnerships with ionic american brands and know from talking to you back clearthat you've got very ideas about what should be done' from the african side what do be to accelerate business partnerships with the creation jobs. >> thank you. than just looking at what we as africans can do, i can do isther what we certainly look at the area of, aren't areas that challenging, for us as african countries. and a key area for us is around the young people that we have in africa.

15 to 25-year-olds in africa make up 26% of the population of continent today. so the key issue is making sure that we have those people being end to be able to contribute towards the continued economies on the continent. so in looking at our been ableps and we've to create partnerships with mcdonald's and coca-cola, that's a key area for us. so, for example, with mcdonald's $80,000 and we have to focus on young people our business. so i think from a business perspective it's important that on education and the soowerment of young people. that as we go forward we have the resources that we require to economies moving

forward. and from that perspective we better able to teach, to grow our economies in the manner that we need to do. >> do you think it would be helpful if these major american companies did more in the en area, ton training design programs that are tied to the job market? problem in just a africa, this is a problem all over the world. there is a job shortage for people everywhere. it was part of what triggered spring in cairo, they were producing 4 thun thousand a year andduates jobs forear 400,000 them. something we should do together? >> absolutely. yeah, absolutely. i think we will definitely need fore focusing on pushing more educational young people

together. i think it's a critical issue us to focus on as we move forward because you think about criticals the one resource that we knee to move our continent for and continue to grow, it's to develop our young people. and then from that perspective continue toble to based in other areas, and we know the other challenges that we face. we know that there are a number could requiret advancement. so what i would say is that for investors coming into the african continent, the one lookingat we need to be at is that you cannot be looking at coming into the african continent with the perspective able to be based immediately. but it's the issue of making sure that we are willing to the infrastructure

requirements of the country that you are investing in. inwhether it is investing the people of their country or investing in the infrastructure very important to be able to do that prior to the actual investment in the business. because would you that, you continuedave that growth of your business and you won't be able to support the you're in as well. of all, first congratulations on your assuming wal-mart.ency of you made your move into africa company. acquiring a successful in this country and around the world in small measure not just

because you source with people you a good price, but because you have a brilliant operation.n i think based on my own toerience working on trying get aids trucks, malaria trucks, mile,ple in the blast frying to help very small farmers become part of a comif navment these supply chain issues are profound, but they should create an economic marker. so talk to me a little about why interest africa by buying another company first, take on thisur supply chain issue and whether ans both an opportunity and obstacle to future investment. >> it is the issue for us and would love to talk about it. first of all, thank you for us.ng i'm excited about africa, years ago.ng a few

as we look at what we're trying to do, we are trying to provide customers' access to fresh produce and other items at a great value. to have a we've got great supply chain. in the case of africa we're some of the learning we e experienced to invest and in areas where it's needed. we want to be able to take a fresh focus and reach the small and heed yum holders and enable them to be more productive and their yesterdays to provide pack houses where they need them, to put the pieces in place to create the system that supplies the store, which also creates good jobs as well as more commodity type items. so for us it's a long-term proposition. invested $2.6 billion in 20 # 1 and that's just the beginning. we are expecting the reason we made the very much is we region, not just

sub-saharan, but area and so many countries will dohe con tin ebb the right things to create the doesn't --ure so it exporting things out of africa and selling them in the united states and the u.k. favorite stories is about a couple saysers to who came back and formed a winery, sisters wine, and they've sold about 5,000 cases far. we never would have found them if we didn't have the presence in africa. >> andrew, what's your take on of manufacturing in africa? one of the things i think it's out is whileg

manufacturing is the single most growing sector of the economy in terms of you productivity, therefore every year fewer pee can produce more stuff is.tever that the multiplier effect of manufacturing jobs in ever resociety on earth is quite high. betterwe get infrastructure and if we do chainswith the supply and we should be able to build manufacturing centers, but as said in opening marks, one of the things that has not happened within africa is that promise of -- basic multi-national continental marketing and open free trayd more

within africa, i think is slowing down a lot of investments that might otherwise come. about that. tle what do you think we ought to do about that and what can this to help?e do >> thank you, mr. president. i add my thanks to being invited here, and dow doesn't have quite report in africa as -- the one thing we haven't discussed yet who bring their to the continent, there is city a pie there that's expanding but leaving a lot of behind. income inequality and jobs for employment in

general is a nonissue of most theloping nations and solution space we've been getting interest here like trade, i thinke designing economy used to be thought of as a bad thing, in and allndustrial policy that. i've been trying very hard travels tobore in my use singapore, use thailand, use a few other countries that are advanced and generations skipped and you don't have to go through coop of the united states and other nations, you pollution, the create job supply chains of the instead mentioned, and of being a rawer the exporter which is obviously where you the china and where china -- that technology to you through local partnerships. i joined dow with this vision of

did itt in asia and we very successfully. localhole notion of going and then creating clusters around advanced manufacturing a nationbe brought to state. if it never creates regional clusters, so be it. but at least within countries of size like maybe kenya, in fact kenyan worked with the government to do that. how would you approach designing can economy such that you take advantage of the most important resources you have? of course you have agriculture and you've got to not waste your food. but how can you organize the infrastructure does get built with the capital raise? how will you take on that ?entality

as i speak i have 41 dow people in either yoap yeah, training local students on how to do some of this stuff, ngo's so that, of this is for africa by africans. going local means reverse training. the great american model, has go localut how to around the world by bringing value chains and creating jobs. a wayed manufacturing in destroys jobs. so what you've got to do is you we used to do. we're going to go steal cement, petrochemicals, that's not enough. you've got to refigure your way through advanced economy development learning lessons like how do i complete an likeion supply chain, morocco has done. there's a whole supply chain goes with aerospace that they've been able to employ

people. we have worked with governments that do that and that model, business, government, civil society, working with schools is the only way forward. and i believe after can can generation skip if it does this faster than other countries. >> just to follow up on that, try to not editorialize too much. greatk that one of the opportunities that the african leaders and business leaders have here is to add the value of natural resources before they leave the country. before they leave the region, the con continent. we need american funds, to look at this added value proposition.

i was talking with a group last work we did in rwanda to try to bring them a operation much we sold all that coffee for buts at fair trade prices, they were just coffee beans. once we could roast the coffee the world madet a huge difference, and it made s so much more money. so i think the opportunities would surprise people who do a lot of business in africa, but in the value added chain. there are lots of opportunities. example.he one casaba, that's the crop of choice in africa. not very good at producing casaba. you can do research to help chainomplete that supply in africa. suddenly there's --

>> the point i want to make to here is, is there actually money in this, real money. think is very underinvested. i wanted, i got a lot of other questions, but it's interesting to me to watch your emergence. not from being a person who made a lot of money in traditional industries, to someone who is thinking about where you want after ka to be five, 10, 20 now. from about were talking nigeria before we came out and been, atnate we've

least so far, that not with standing the political turmoil in the north which sometimes creeps into the middle of the has beenthe region able to continue to grow at a very brisk rate, which is highly all africans. us what you want potential american investors to know, what you immediate the most, and what you think you and your fellow africans should do build more partnerships. >> thank you, mr. president. great to be, it is here. what i think there is quite a to be done, i think this forum will help in terms of bringing people together, andging both africans americans together for us to ourselves.

because if you don know yourselves you are not going to do any business. i know that a couple of they are still thinking about africa of the last decade last 10, 15 years. things have changed dramatically. africa has been growing at about on average, in the last decade. and it means that when you look the future, the future is there. 5.5% continue to grow at power. no likeook at a country have maybere they

population from. so there's actually no power there. strugglingve been because of the transformation in of the political ideas that have been there for some time. you can continue to grow this, that in the next years, africa will end $15 trillion.t sites going to be a good story. lot ofyou know, yes, a perceived risk, people always

but majority of them, you don't know the story, there,ve not really been and you said something that about 54 countries. people believe africa is like one state. need about 37 visas to move around in africa. from --body coming i think there must be this integration within us. if they

we havelike to say that two major partnerships, one of is the biggest, who have signed an m.o.u. who are i

$5 billion jointly in power, power infrastructure, and acrossructure sub-saharan africa. [applause] with this we will definitely close the gap. quite a lot of gap. and this gap, we know with the there.d it's we're going to be very serious so that tworessive, work.eally make it secondly we have a billion lrs invest in petroleum refining. and when the first color went to decide to do the africa fund, we ise 10% of that, which 15 million. but eventually they raised more than $500 billion, they raised

$$728. so we're open, and i'm sure that there will be quite a lot of these deals, and i hope somebody bid thisut there to $5 billion of investment. >> just remember who sells power equipment. >> we do. in.ust want to get that >> i think that's the purpose of i should havee agent.ur let me ask you a question about the power, all of you, related supply chains. based on myly experience in two or three countries where we do business work through the clinton foundation and our there.s still has a lot of inequality in terms of economic allrtunity and options like

places, city to country. has spreadng that lick wildfire that has all over is cell phone technology, which is why you've got as many as 23% of the people account, because of the cell phone technology, and potentially you could have the people banking just on their phones. which is essentially with a in haiti today. extent, at least based on my experience, we're, we have to have some power source to preserve medical when we tryxample, to build health clinics in rural areas. need a combination if we want to accelerate growth and make it even of centralized power off powerid, and distributed solidh solar wind and

waste. you do both. so what's your take on that? were the energy and anylopment minister of african country with a subject tanks you're population, would you pursue a dual strategy? immyf so, what are the indicationings of that for investment fund and american companies wanting to do business there? >> i would say mr. president you need both. gigae got roughry a 100 of electricity in africa. i think they is not going to be quickly enough. so i would advocate maybe leading with distributed power. you've got to solve for the issue.ant so you start with fuel, you've got countries that have

hydrocapability, and hydroshould be a real option. you've got countries that have natural gas and the issue should be to get the natural gas priced the right way, so you can put it back into the system, get some pipeline to do distributed power. you've got countries capability, like and ther tanzania, sunshines in most places. but distribute solar is not to solve africa's challenges. so i would pick the countries get gas, do both charge and distribute gas. countries that have hydrodo hydro. some cole in to be the mix, we need to be practical about where that goes. we ought to be distributed solar programs throughout the region ad i think it's going to ache multitude of different things. in what every government

this looked should have a very transparent energy policy and scheme.g and whether or not it's a bulk power agreement or a purchase agreement, there's a right way and a wrong way to do those things. would say the things that are, be localized here you're going to have an upstate can localize a lot of wind here. so not only are you solving an infrastructure issue, you're also going to solve a job issue. with the fuels. make is solve i the geesey problems first. doing something like building a nuclear power plan is the hardest thing on earth to do. if you laid everything on earth down and picked the hardest, it's the hardest. i just don't think that will be pervasive technology that gets

advanced. doug, you want to comment on this? >> i do, because this is a mine, energy policy for nation states is something they can learn from the rest of who got i wrong and this country city haven't have it right. thing that countries can do is start at the conservation en then work backwards into the grids and fuel sources. isause if you say nuclear too hot, you're paying the price of oil or its proks ji and thing tovery hard compete on affordable energy. you start with the btu you never ever use rather than the one you pay too much for. so natural building standards, be generation skip in terms of smart city designs. patterns,ur traffic the whole notion of energy use in buildings, we waste 40% of

energy we why in this country through bad buildings and lack of national building code. you can intervene at the use level and work your way back sources, andfuel if you're fortunate to have your own natural gas, which is the fuel can you burn, then why that domestically before you end up exporting it for the one time. if you do that, bring that money back and do something wise with withinerms of using it your economy. abovek this is all the infra structure. >> let me say, before going to doug, in his former life, mayor bloomberg, and at the en of his material was the chairman a big citiesd the c40, throughout the world dedicated efficiency andgy sustain ability through clean areas.in urban the clinton foundation was not here for a lot of this and there

a lot of african cities today that are now in our gettingn that are efficient bus rap i transit that to close their land fulls and use energy sources and recycling. and are working up and down the of what'st more out there. so it no longer people thinking touchy feely off beat issue. that any it's something deserves more attention perhaps later in the day with the other panels. i don't think there's any big company in america that's tried to do more on the sustain issue than wal-mart has. this?t do you think about as an opportunity for creating energy through sustain ability. >> disconnect the dot between your point around investment and afterness opportunity in with drted energy. pursuit of --

me like is there a place for vents to accelerate this process and do some skipping. what new equipment can do today compared to what old equipment rare in terms of energy andramatically different i've seen what our competition is doing and what we're doing. the some lot waste in that new money could generate efficiently but on a sunday. mr. president, the other issues also just looking at more involvement of the it'ste sector, because still very much a public sector driven area. have mored to legislation that allows for private sector to participate in this. and having looked at that, i would say that we need to have

focus on sources that them.ore sense to if you look at gas, it's not necessarily the answer over country. for instance, gas is not easily in south africa. but it is available in nigeria. at fueleed to look sources that are available and make the most out of those. at it frome to look the a south african perspective useuld say that we need to we have, but to look into renewable energy, .ooking at the full spectrum but i think there's still quite needs toterms what was be done, making sure that we a --

>> yes, mr. president. i think in africa i believe we can generate power from various somees, you know, countries they have oil. have hydro, cole, gas. have in night nigeria we potential gas results of 263 cubic feet of gas. and you can do quite a lot. think we need to pay a lot of attention to power. base.k that's really the because if we really want to ofe inclusive growth, moth the small or medium enterprises unless weing to work have power. i think it something that we need to do. is very important and

critical. this our with interaction between africa and states, i personally believe that it's very important to sten our renew status. because today a lot of countries have credit in terms of what you want to buy equipment. competitivevery because of the cheap energy that you have. it is very competitive because the labor component in is not much. it the energy. so american equipment that are very complex, that is not renewed. be an issue.there all --t of all, we're i fine it amazing. economics is not theology. running a country you've got to try to create an opportunity for all your

toes be competitive. and that's all the. and m. bank does. her more ridiculous things the bank the last six months than my entire lifetime. support to extend agoa and improve it. in a waye could do it that would encourage more economic diversification in africa. and i wish that not only our panelists but others here would give some thought to that. right now we just want to get it toended, but think about how craft extension so we can important the development aspirationings of the various nations and what the people really need. we're out of type. we haven't talked nearly enough about education and training, equal inclusion of equipment and -- equipment and girls and the

economic plan for their future. and there are so many things that need to be said that will presumably be said later. hope that everybody who is here because you're interested though not yet involved is now more interested and more determined to be involved. of ourope that all herean friends who are will accelerate the opportunity together.do things i think the united states and its business community need this relationship as much or more, as businessd its community. this is a very important part of our future. and a just like to say one final thing. i thought of all the people who

of uganda, and the amazing stories so many of them have made. that weorced something shub forget here. intelligence, dreams, and the willingness to work are evenly distributed throughout the world. investment opportunities and will work smart behavior are not. that's really what this is about. all of us are being given a chance to either do our workings like the the gates foundation a lot of or to make money out of the fact that this gap has now oh occurred and now be closed. i see the world bank president out there, he's going to help us do it. the government is committed to help us do it. just remember his speech. at guy drops out of school 15 and does what he's done the last 18 years. had toshould never have

leave home a single day to do that. to create the african home as a place of opportunity and for those who want to work with them. and i think we should give our panelists, especially our a big hand.lists, [applause] >> president obama also spoke at the u.s. africa business forum, following his remarks, the president sat down for an interview about investment in .frica much, thank you, please be seated. everybody.oon,

mayor bloomberg, thank you. kindnly for the introduction, but to bloomberg our cohost,es as and for the gray work that you're doing across africa to jobs and promote public health, encourage inrepreneurship, especially women. so thank you very much, michael, for your leadership. our otherthank cohost, my great friend and secretary,mmerce penny pritzker. [applause] i want to welcome all of our partners who are joining us from across africa. heads of state and government, welcome the delegations from sierra leone, guinea with whom we are working so usual ebbly to ebola outbreak. i also want to welcome madam

chair person of the african commission. president of the african donald, as bank, well as the president of the dr. kim.k please give all of them a round of applause. [applause] and i want to acknowledge members of congress who are here and who are such great champions africa's engagement with america. does not always agree on much these days, there is broad bipartisan agreement a secure prosperous and self reliant after africa is in national interest of the united states. most of all i want to thank all leaders,he business the producer, both from the united states and from across africa. creating jobs and opportunity for our people every single day. acknowledge my leaders from across my administration who like penny

partners, including our u.s. trade representative froman. and our new head of the millennial challenge corporation, dana hite. president of the export import bank. director of the u.s. trade and development agency and our present c.e.o. of opec, elizabeth littlefeel. so we are here. of the u.s. part africa leaders summit. the largest gathering any has everpresident hosted with african heads of government. this summit reflex a enter techive that has guided my president. africa as even as africa continues to face even as toollenges, many africans still endure hunger and conflict, disease, even as we work together to meet those

challenges, we cannot lose sight that'snew africa emerging' we all know what makes trunt extra, such opportunity. expanding sectors like manufacturing and retail. growinghe fastest telecommunicationings markets in the world. reforming,ments are attracting a record level of investment. it last year in south africa i held a town hall with young men and women including some who joined us by video from uganda. and one young woman spoke for many for instance when she said to -- frins when she said we are looking to the world for equal business partners and commitments and not necessarily aid. we want to do business at home

and be the ones to own our own markets. that's a sentiment we hear over and over again. when i was traveling throughout africa last year what i heard was the desire not just for aid but the development that helps nations grow and empowers africans for the long term. as president i made it clear that the united states is determined to be a partner in africa's success. a good partner, an equal partner, and a partner for the long term. we don't look to africa simply -- [applause] we don't look to africa simply for its natural resources. we recognize africa for its greatest resource which is its people and talents and their potential. [applause] we don't simply want to extract minerals from the ground for our growth.

we want to build genuine partnerships that create jobs and opportunity for all our peoples and that unleash the next era of african growth. that's the kind of partnership america offers. since i took office we have stepped up our efforts across the board. more investments in africa, more trade missions like the one penny led this year, and more support for u.s. exports. and i'm proud. i'm proud that american exports to africa have grown to record levels supporting jobs in africa and the united states, including a quarter of a million good american people jobs. but here's the thing. our entire trade with all of africa is still only about equal to our trade with brazil. one country. of all the goods we export to the world only about 1% goes to

subis a harne africa. so we have a lot of work to do. we have to do better. much better. i want africans buying more american products, i want americans buying more african products. i know you do, too, and that's what you're doing here today. [applause] so i'm pleased that in conjunction with this forum american companies are announcing major new deals in africa. black stone will invest in african energy projects, coca-cola will partner to bring clean water to its communities, g.e. will help build african infrastructure. mare yot will build more hotels. all told, american companies, many with our trade assistance, are announcing new deals in clean energy, aviation, banking and construction worth more selling more n,

goods stamped with that proud labeling, made in africa. i don't want to just sustain this momentum, i want to up our game. so today i'm announcing a series of steps to take our trade with africa to the next level. first, we're going to keep working to renew the act and enhance it. [applause] we still do the vast majority of our trade with just three countries -- south africa, nigeria, and angola. still heavily weighted toward the energy sector. we need more africans, including women and small and medium sized businesses getting their goods to market and leaders in congress -- democrats and republicans -- have said they want to move forward. so i'm optimistic we can work with congress. so we can re new it. we need to get that done.

second. as part of our doing business in africa campaign, we're going to do even more to help american companies compete. we'll put even more of our teams on the ground advocating on behalf of your companies. we're going to send even more trade missions. today we're announcing $7 billion to promote american exports to africa. earlier today i signed an executive order to create a new president advisory council of business leaders to help make sure we're doing everything we can to help you do business in africa. [applause] and i would be remiss if i did not add that house republicans can help by reauthorizing the export import bank. that is the right thing to do. i was trying to explain to somebody that if i've got a ford dealership and the toyota

dealership is providing financing, to anybody who walks in the dealership and i'm not, i'm going to lose business. it's pretty straight fode. we need to g that reauthorized. and u you business leaders can help make clear that it is critical to u.s. business. number three. we want to partner with africa to build the frurk that conomies need -- africa that needs to flourish. that's while last year while traveling throughout the continent i announced a bold initiative to help bring electricity to more than 20 million african homes and businesses. we have joined with governments, the development bank and the private sector. and i will tell you the has xceeded our projections. it has been overwhelming.

already, projects and negotiations are under way that when completed will put us nearly 80% of our way towards the goal. on top of the significant resources we've already commit i'm announcing that the united states will increase our pledge to $300 million a year for this effort. as of today, including an ditional million being announced, we've now mobilized a total of more than $26 billion to power africa. ust since we announced it. [applause] so today we are raising the bar. we decided we are meeting our goal too easily so we've got to go up. so we're tripling our goal aiming to bring electricity to more than 60 million african homes and businesses that can spark growth for decades to

come. fourth. we'll do more to help africans trade with each other. because the markets with the greatest potential are often the countries right next door. and it should not be harder to export your goods to your neighbor than it is to export those goods to los angeles or to amder dam. so through our trade africa initiative we will increase our efforts to help our partners build their capacity to trade, strengthen regional markets, make borders more efficient, modernize the customs system. we want to get african goods moving faster within africa as well as outside of africa. and finally, we are doing more to empower the next generation of african entrepreneurs and business leaders. it's young men and women like our extraordinary mandola washington fellow that i met last week. i have to say to the heads of

state and government, you would have been extraordinarily proud to meet these young people who exhibit so much talent and so much energy and so much drive. with new regional leadership centers and online courses we're going to offer training and networking for tens of thousands of young prirnes across africa. young grants will access the capital they need to grow, our summit this year will be held in morocco, next year for the first time in subsaharne africa. because we want to make sure that all that talent is tapped and they have access to the capital and the networks and the markets that they need to succeed. because if they succeed, then the countries in which they live will succeed. they'll create jobs, they'll create growth. they'll create opportunity. so the bottom line is the united states is making a major and long term investment in africa's projects.

taken together the new commitments i've described today across our got and by our many partners total some $41 billion. that will support development across africa and jobs here in the united states. including up to tens of thousands of american jobs are supported er time we expand trade with africa. as critical as all these investments are, the key to unlocking the next era of african growth is not going to be here in the united states. it's going to be here in africa. so during this week's summit we will be discussing a whole range of areas where we're going to have to work together. areas that are important in their own rights but which are also essential to africa's growth. capital is one thing. development programs and projects are one thing. but rule of law, regulatory reform, good governance, those

things matter even more because people should be able to start a business and ship their goods without having to pay a bribe or hire somebody's cousin. agricultural development is critical. because it's the best way to boost incomes for the majority of africans who are farmers, especially as they deal with the impacts of climate change. rebuilding a strong health infrastructure especially for mothers and children is critical because no country can prosper unless its citizens are healthy and strong and children are starting off with the advantages they need to grow to their full potential. and we're going to have to talk about security and peace, because the future belongs to those who build, not those who destroy. and it's very hard to attract business investment and it is very hard to build infrastructure and it is very hard to stay an entrepreneurship in the midst of conflict. so i just want to close with

one example of what trade can elp us build together. kavia was born in india. she imgrated to the united states and started a small business in california. it started off as a small engineering firm. then started manufacturing small power generators. with the help of export-import bank including seminars and a line of credit and risk insurance, they started exporting power generators to west africa. they helped build a new power plant. and it's ended up being a win-win for everybody. it's been a win for their company because export to africa have boosted their sales, which means they've been able to hire more workers here in the united states. they partner with ge. ge is doing well. most of their revenues are from exports to africa.

it's been a win for their suppliers in texas and ohio and new york. enin en a win for brn for its people because more electricity, jobs for african at the power plant because the company hires locally and trains those workers. and they hope to keep expanding as part of our power africa initiative. so this is an example of just one small business. imagine if we can replicate that success across our countries. she says when our customers see the label made in america, when they see our flag it puts us above all the competition. her vision is the same vision that brings us all here today. she says, we really want to have a long-term partnership with africa. so she is here. i had a chance to meet her backstage. right there. stand up. she's doing great work. thank you so much.

but she's an example of what's possible. a long-term partnership with africa. and that's what america offers. that's what we're building. that's the difference we can make when africans and americans work together. so let's follow her lead. let's do even more business together. let's tear down barriers that slow us down and get in the way of trade. let's build up the infrastructure, the roads bridges ports, electricity that connects our countries. let's create more, sell more, buy more from each other. i'm confident that we can. and when we do we won't just propel the next era of african growth. we'll create more jobs and opportunity for everybody. for people here in the united states, and for people around the world. so thank you very much everybody for what so far has been an outstanding session. i've got the opportunity to speak to this young man.

[applause] >> thank you very much for this opportunity. i'll start by -- >> thank you. have you introduced yourself to everybody? >> i wanted to really jump into -- >> go ahead and introduce yourself. >> i'm a young entrepreneur. i'm 21. from zimbabwe. and i'm working in the wireless technology space, essentially liberating the internet. >> and let me just -- this is an example of our young african leader. in fact the youngest young african leader. but one thing i will say though, if you're going to promote your business, you've got to make sure to let people know.

>> definitely. >> just a little tip. you can't be shy. please go on. >> so i was really great to start by developing into a personal experience. i will get to my business. for those saying we're working in the technology space working on my third tariff. we're creating the fifth free internet access network hence liberating the network. so in our working we came to a point in time where we needed to import technology from the united states. so we engaged in conversation with the u.s.-based businesses and the response we got time and time again was unfortunately we cannot do business with you because you're from zimbab way. how strange it doesn't make sense. so this is the same experience that other entrepreneurs have gone through even through the meetings that i've had here. you sit down with potential investors, you talk about the

project, the outlook, the opportunity, the growth. and they're excited. you can see. then i say i'm from zimbabwe and say young man, this is a good project, very good very good but unfortunately we cannot engage with business with you. and i understand the sanctions that we have that are imposed. these are targeted. but then we've come to a point in time where we as young africans are failing to properly engage in business with u.s.-based entities because there hasn't been that clarity. these entities believe that zimbabwe is under sanctions. so what can he k we do to clarify this to make sure that we can effectively develop africa? >> obviously the situation in zimbabwe is somewhat unique. the challenge for us in the united states has been how do we balance our desire to help the people of zimbabwe with

what is frankly been a repeated violation of basic democratic practices. and human rights inside of zimbabwe. nd we think it is very important to send clear signals about how we expect elections to be conducted, governments to be conducted, because if we don't then all too often with impunity the people of those countries can suffer. but you're absolutely right that it also has to be balanced with making sure that whatever structures that we put in place with respect to sanctions don't end up punishing the very people inside those countries. my immediate suggestion, and this is a broader point to all the african businesses who are here as well as the u.s. businesses. is to make sure that we're

using the department of commerce and the other u.s. agencies where we can gather groups of entrepreneurs and find out exactly what can be done, what can't be done, what resources are available. it may be that you and a group of entrepreneurs in zimbabwe are able to meet with us and propose certain projects that allow us to say this is something that will advance as opposed to retard the progress for the people. so what i suggest would be that we set up a meeting and we find out what kinds of things that the young entrepreneurs in zimbabwe want to do and see if there are ways we can work with you consistent with the strong message that we send about good governance in zimbabwe.

>> because the point of emphasis really is that as young africans we want to converse with other business entities here in the u.s. and if these sanctions are really targeted then in honest truth they aren't supposed to hamper the business we're trying to engage in. >> let's see if we can refine them further based only some of the things you're talking about. >> now, there have been a good number of investments that have been announced here. multibillion dollar investments in africa. and we're really excited. there's been a lot of talk about how the public and private partnerships are the vehicle through which this investment will come into africa. but i really want to bring you to a point of clarity. i believe that the private sector is in itself. we have existing businesses in these countries we are hoping to invest in and this is usually where the funding comes through the partnerships and all that and that is very well

and fine. and then underneath that we have these young upcoming entrepreneurs, those that come up with products and services that disrupt the industry and this is what we want, to build by africans for africans. but in most cases what we've seen is indeed this comes through but never cascades down to these young entrepreneurs, the emerging businesses. so the existing businesses them form some sort of ceiling which we cannot break through. when it comes to investment, when we're talking about solving unemployment, i believe that it's more realistic to assume and understand that the robability of ten setups employing ten people is more realistic than one company employing hundreds of people. so what conversation has there been in these deals structured and investments that you've announced to cater to the young entrepreneur who is trying to

solve the problems of society? >> first, i think for the bids leaders who are here both african and u.s., it's hard being a startup everywhere. part of what you're describing is typical of business around the world. folks who are already in, they don't necessarily want to share. they don't want to be disruptive. if there's a great opportunity they would rather do it themselves if they see a small up and coming hot shot who might disrupt their business they may initially try to block you or they may try to buy you out. and getting financing for a startup is always going to be difficult. you hear that from entrepreneurs here in the u.s. as well. having said that what is absolutely true is that as we think about the billions of dollars that we're mobilizing, we want to make sure that small

businesses, medium sized businesses, women-owned businesses, that they have opportunity. and so my instructions to all of our agencies and hopefully the work that we're doing with all of our partners, is how can financing targets for the startup, how can we identify and link up u.s. companies with small and medium-sized businesses and not just the large businesses? and i think you are absolutely trying to y us spread investments not narrowly through one or two companies but more broadly, that the opportunities for success in most countries are higher. and it also creates a healthy competition. and that's true also in terms of how we're designing, for example, our feed the future

program. which is working with almost 2 million small farmers inside of africa. when i was there, i met with a woman maybe in her 30s. she had a small plot of land initially. through the feed the future program, she had been able to mechanize double her productivity. by doubling her productivity and through a smart phone getting better prices to the market, she was able to increase her profits. then she bought a tractor. then she doubled her productivity again. and suddenly what had started off as just a program to become her income, had capital for a growing business where she was now hiring people in her area. and doing some of the processing of the grain that she grew herself, so that she

could move up the value chain. there are entrepreneurs like that all across africa. sometimes the capital they need is not very large. sometimes it's a fairly modest amount. so what i want to do is to make sure that we are constantly looking out for opportunities to disburs this capital not just narrowly but broadly. and one thing i hope happens with u.s. companies is they're constantly looking for opportunities to partner with young entrepreneurs startups and not just always going to the same well-established businesses. now, there are going to be some large capital projects where you've got a good solid established company. hopefully they themselves have policies with respect to their suppliers that allow them to start encouraging and growing small businesses as well. >> exactly. on that note i'm glad that you acknowledge that. i hope that eevep in these

deals in the investment we're talking about, that one of the conditions be that those large organizations that are getting investment have policies that cascade down to people at the grass roots. you spoke about this lady who was using a smart phone. it is one key issue that's really propelling business and development in africa, that ability to leverage technology. and we need -- it's all about the internet of things. that's why i'm personally working to liberate the internet to get more people connected. now, this is a huge opportunity in africa as well. now, there's this troubleing issue that has been brought to our opportunity with organizations who say we want to control the internet, we want to see who gets what traffic and from whom. the policies and programs like that become challenges for setups, for the slated forum

that you talked about. trying to get information from the internet. so what is your stance on net neutrality and this effect in the growth and development in africa? >> this is an important issue for all heads of state in government not just in africa but around the world. the reason the internet is so powerful is because it's open. my daughters are 16 and 13, they can access information from any place in the world. a can learn about particular discipline instantaneously in ways that when i was their age, first i wasn't as motivated than they are. they do much better in school. but they can -- the world is at their fingertips. what facilitates that and what has facilitated the incredible value that's been built by companies like google and

facebook and so many others, all the application that is you find on your smart phone is that they're not restrictions, they're not barriers to entry for new companies who have a good idea to use this platform that is open to create value. and it is very important i think that we maintain that. now, i know that there's a tension in some countries, their attitude is we don't necessarily want all this information flowing because it can end up also being used as a tool for political organizing, t can be used as a tool to criticize the government. and so maybe we would prefer a system that is more closed. i think that is a self-defeating attitude. over the long term, because of technology, information,

knowledge, transparency is inevitable. and that's true here in the united states, it's true everywhere. so what we should be doing is trying to maintain an open internet, trying to keep a process wrsh any talented person who has an idea can suddenly use the internet to disburse information. there are going to be occasional tensions involved in terms of us monitoring the use of the internet for terrorist networks or criminal enterprises or human trafficing. but we can do that in ways that are compatible with maintaining an open internet. and this raises the broader question that i had mentioned needs which is africa capital. in some cases africa needs

technical assistance. africa certainly needs access to markets. but perhaps the biggest thing that africa is going to need to unleash even more the poshte that's already are there is ws and regulations and structures that empower individuals and are not simply designed to control or empower those at the very top. and the internet is one example. you've got to have a system sets of laws that encourage entrepreneurship. but that's also true when it comes to a whole host of issues. it's true when it comes to how hard is it to get a business permit when a new startup like urs wants to establish

itself? when it comes to power africa, there are billions of dollars floating around the world that are interested in investmenting in power generation in africa. and the countries that are going to attract that investment are the ones where the investor knows that if a power plant is built, that the rules in place are transparent that ensure that they're going to get a decent return. and that some of the revenue isn't sifend off in certain ways so that the investor has political risks or risks with respect to corruption. the more that governments set up the right rools understanding that in the 21st century the power that drives growth and development in the marketplace involves knowledge. and that can't be controlled. the msu