and other areas around there like in africa? or is africa an exception in terms of risk? >> i believe africa is at the stage that asia was 15 years ago where a number of companies viewed asia as an opportunity to plant flags and grow aggressively. i think africa is at that stage. and those of us who go local and plant ourselves with the right investment and quality of people locally and transfer. we can do a lot in africa. the risks are talked about a great deal but if you go and travel and look at the opportunities there you can find ways to improve those risks in a way that is perfectly acceptable to the government's needs of most of our companies. let me give you an example. when we go to bank in africa, we need to take from them two partners both with james and sam and take a certain level of guarantee that takes 2-3 days between the time the merchant is paid and we collect the money back. if you went to small banks, i would be underwriting hundreds and i cannot do that well. we go partner with institution like the ifc and find way they can do the underwriting and we a

the world are in africa. it may go to seven in the coming decade. the middle class is growing, but in spite of the $80 billion in foreign investments and the $400 billion in exports we will see this year, three quarters of those exports are still in oil and gas and diamonds. the potential for economic diversification is great. there is 650 million cell phone users on the continent of 900 million people. only 300 million people with electricity. about 170 million people with generally good internet access. 23% of the people have a bank account, thanks to cell phone banking and 5% have a credit card. there are lots of obvious options here. to those of you, the small number here, nor interested in this subject but have not had a lot of contact with africa, i think it is important to say that our african panelists will not have to say the obvious -- obvious -- it is a continent, not a country. the laws of countries matter. the practices and the coulters and the opportunities will be different from place to place.

companies in africa. at the same time the world think president announced another five ilion dollars in commitment to empower africa efforts. this means that in just over a year they have generated over 26 billion dollars in committed funds to electrifying africa. furthermore, our commerce secretary said the u.s. will add tens trade missions in africa to with china and anyone else in the coming years. the message, from congress and from the white house, is loud and clear. america is ready to do business in africa and we are ready to compete with anybody, any competitor and all competitors on the continent of africa. the president of the united states has made this a key priority. the congress is moving ager legislation -- moving major legislation. a real step towards galvanized action. those of you who came here maybe doubting america's seriousness and even america's ability to compete with foreign competitors in africa, let me offer you a few words of advice. american businesses are competing to set highe

the future of manufacturing in africa? he things i think that is worth pointing out is while manufacturing is the single most rapidly growing sector of economy in terms of annual productivity growth, therefore, every year more people can produce more stuff whatever that stuff is to the multiplying factor is quite high. and if we get better infrastructure and if we do better with the supply chain, and we should be able to build manufacturing centers, but as jeff said in his opening remarks, one of the things that has not happened within africa is that the original promise of -- these african community and knee pad to have basic multinational, continental marketing and open markets, more free trade within africa, i think is slowing down a lot of manufacturing investment than might otherwise. so talk to little about that. what you think we ought to do about that and what can this conference do to help? >> thank you, mr. president. i had my thanks are being invited here, and dow doesn't quite have a long pedigree in africa's g.

but yet polio kills hundreds of thousands of children in africa. so it will come from africa for that need is so overwhelming. the cure from malaria will come from africa and the connection of africa and did in the loan and unique way. to make a really feasible solution was 750 young people who participates in that market but that is the potential for that market. in down here to become a net producer of technology. to break the boundaries of the physical challenges but also to create'' was unbelievable inclusiveness that the 55 countries i would argue we are far away but it is possible the capacity excess to come together faster up until now >> just looking at the numbers from the very beginning then add period in the '80s then we have the best years of modern history at least. i would appreciate to sink this could accelerate a of little bit more? kodak to 1990 or '91 with that evolution in africa so looking at the industry and what it takes with that african population. how much will it cost? [inaudible] countries like botswana in data know where

americans, europeans, chinese, everybody has a place in africa. it is a continent of over 30 million square kilometers. everything has to be made. roads, railways, there is opportunity for africans and the rest of the world. africa must no longer be seen as a land of humanitarian emergencies or diseases for instance. even though right now we are facing a terrible epidemic of ebola. these things need to be treated. the world must be optimistic towards africa. >> people are talking about partnering globally and locally, global and local, together, as the best way of creating a partnership. and i once to add that people are also talking about the growth of the continent, of africa. even when there are known problems talked about, for example, a lack of electricity, lack of power. some say, imagine what would happen in terms of growth rates across africa if there was no shortage of power. you could talk about many of the things. so through this partnership, many things that exist in africa today, technology, business, trade and investments, the benefit

everybody has its place in africa. it is an africa of over -- a continent over 30 million square kilometers. everything has to be made. roads, railways. there is opportunity for both africans and the rest of the world. africa must no longer be seen as a land of humanitarian emergency or diseases, for instance. even if right now we are facing a terrible epidemic, ebola, but these things will need to be treated. the world must be optimistic towards after i will could. >> people are talking about patterning globally and locally. global and local together, as the best way of creating a partnership. and i want to add that people also are talking about the growth by continent of africa. even when there are known problems that are talked about. for example, lack of electricity, lack of power. and somebody is saying, imagine what would happen in terms of these growth rates across africa if there was no shortage of power. could you talk about many other things. so through this partnership i think many jobs that exist in africa t

in africa. if a few moments you'll hear about different approaches we can take to deepen africa's financial services sector to unlock access to capitol markets the fact is to expand growth and attract greater investment, africa will have to open markets provide access to governments, businesses and because of strong macro economic fundamentals and reforms in place, african countries and companies are expanding access to international capitol markets. africa attracted $50 billion in 2012. and to retain and build on this success africa will need to pursue further reforms as president obama said, governments more open and transparent respect rights and abide by the rules of law grow faster and draw more investments the challenge is head is to build robust and transparent capitol markets in financial sectsors. as everyone knows, financing is is critical building africa's infrastructure, fuelling the next wave of entrepreneurs and improving standard of living for families across the country. open capi

>> of course, right now the .pidemic is in west africa tanzania is in east africa. [laughter] [applause] not only that. [laughter] outbreak was also an .n the condo -- congo there was another outbreak last year in uganda which borders tanzania. concerned, ande we have also put in place mechanisms of possible response. labsnk we have established to that effect, just in case there is a report of a possible infectedbreak or ebola person. we do the evaluation and then analysis and then confirm if it is there. so we are taking more precautions, just in case, as you rightly said, people travel. not prevented from liberia, west africa, coming to tanzania. i just in case it spreads, can assure you, we have taken precautionary measures in terms of building capacities for confirmation of a just in case it is suspicious, there has been an ebola case. >> i would like to comment not on the ebola case, but what i consider the main problem. africaain, it if we want and america, if we want someday for people to refer to the african tigers and so forth, the most important thing for u

investment in africa. ve to add the africans have a number of priorities, like infrastructure, and electricity. power africa, a flagship programme of president obama addresses this issue of the increasing power access in a generation this africa. >> do you agree that there is so much more opportunity in africa? >> absolutely. there's incredible space for american business to diversify and expand beyond natural resources and some of the key oil economies that we have invested in. there's tremendous participation for african economies to trade within africa, and across africa, and that is another very important aspect of african economic growth. and where u.s. investment can be helpful, as with the power initial ties and other infrastructure that can help unlock trade within the continent as well. it will be important for producing the jobs to employs all the youth that we can see coming. >> and how important, how significant should human right be in this discussion. it's a summit about business, about the pa

and that still with the mind set in africa. it was fast paced. more than different on that side of the war. asset electricity has been significantly included. saying from the african continent is in, i call it power. and lastly, our government needs to have, we need to realize the area. so if we have a tax, the right tax incentives that encourages you to invest more. so that would have and let me say it's of kind of money you need in power. and there are agencies at play. we need to also have american senate if you have significance in africa. and finally, again, to have political leadership. we need to encourage domestic savings mobile sayings and we need to make sure when modernize we turn it into this area to develop power. the exception is needed in africa. we need to look at that mobilizing means on end. the end is for capitol to grow what we need. and i think a lot more can, i know -- >> thank you tony, thank you so much. >> for people coming and the rest of us, you have it in that ability, that clarity, is now so able that we're going to se

in africa. in south africa under apartheid, in darfur, in the sahel, in the great lakes region, in all of these places the congo has always been present and made its presence felt in a constructive manner. in the promotion of peace and security, national reconciliation. in the case of south africa under apartheid, i am very pleased, indeed, to see here ambassador cohen. we worked quite actively and quite closely with ambassador cohen, and i greet him and am pleased to see him here. and also undersecretary kocher. together we worked very hard to bring south africa, angola and cuba together, worked for the retreat of cuban troops in angola and the independence of namibia. but a few of the areas in which we collaborated. to illustrate, i will speak briefly about specific action my country has undertaken in the drc and in the central african republic. in the democratic republic of congo, my country plays the role of facilitator in the national dialogue, bringing the main political factions together i

the world are in africa. it may go to seven in this coming decade. the middle class is growing. but in spite of the $80 billion in foreign investment and the $400 billion in exports we'll see this year, 3/4 of those exports are still in oil and gas, metals and diamonds. so the potential for economic diversification is great. there are 650 million cell phone users on the continent of 900 million people. only 300 million people with electricity. 170 million people with generally good internet access. 23% of the people have a bank account thanks largely to cell phone banking and 5% have a credit card. so there are lots of obvious options here. to those of you, the small number here who are interested in this subject but have not had a lot of contact with africa, i think it is important to say so our african panelists don't have to say it, the obvious. it is a continent, not a country and the laws of countries matter and the practices and the cultures and opportunities will be different from place to place, but al

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, beca

everybody has a place in africa. it is an africa of over -- a continent of over 30 million square meters. everything needs to be made, roads, rail ways. africa must no longer be seen as a land of human any tear ri emergency or diseases, for instance. even if right now we have a terrible epidemic, ebola, but these things will need to be treated. the world must be open to africa. africa is a land of opportunity. this is the perception that we wanted to share with you. a land of opportunity where growth can be shared and earlier on i was following the speech made by vice president biden. he said that the american investment on the continent creates employment in the u.s. it benefits american growth. that's what he said. it is within this win-win partnership that we came, we, the africans, that we came to meet our american brothers from which we were -- from whom we were separated for so long, but we'll talk about that later, this separation concept. the continent, i mean. [ applause ] >> i want to thank president obama a

let me now look at the security situation in central africa as i see it. first, we have the situation in east of the drc, which has been explosive for a very long time. it is less sentence -- it is less intense than it once was but requires ongoing vigilance. second, the more recent phenomenon of piracy on the seas in the gulf of guinea which has become extraordinarily worrisome. terrorism that reaches toward the south of the continent and that has outbursts in a number of different localities. i can mention here the boko nigeria in its grip and is trying very hard to extend its tentacles to cameroon and the central african republic in the next few days if one does not watch it. the lord resistance army of joseph kony that president in the drc and in uganda. the sociopolitical and security crisis that central african republic has been facing. and thiss worrisome despite numerous initiatives undertaken for peace and security by the community of central african states, the african union itself, the european union, united states and the united nations. the lac

not only in south africa, but around the comment. said i started my career as a 30-year-old kid trying to get businesses to disinvest in south africa. and now i am busting my neck to get them to invest. so that is a mark of the progress we have made here. it is a completely different paradigm. and it is good. america is excited about the prospect of africa, because twoca presents -- possesses incredible resources. an overwhelming abundance of natural resources, and the resources of its people. both its people and its natural resources warrant significant investment and develop and. i would like to focus just for a moment on the people. as i said, when i spoke yesterday at the african civil society meeting, the people of africa, and their leaders are ag to tackle the establishment of sound political and economic institutions, the creation of wealth that reaches beyond the elite, to provide people with economic opportunity throughout the continent, including women and girls, forging a peace in some countries still torn apart, protection

it is going to be in africa. this week, we will be discussing a range of areas where we are going to have to work together. areas important in their own right which are also essential to africa's growth. capital is one thing. development programs and projects are one thing. rule of law, revelatory reform, thingsvernance, those matter more because people should be able to start a business and ship goods without having to pay a bribe or hire somebody's cousin. agricultural development is critical because it is the best way to boost incomes for the majority of africans who are farmers, especially as they deal with climate change. a strong health infrastructure, especially for mothers and children, is critical because no country can prosper unless citizens are healthy and strong and children are starting off with the advantages they need to grow to their full potential. we are going to have to talk about security and peace because the future belongs to those who build, not those who destroy. to attract business invest

we use a lot of on-site solar, hydro and wind in mexico. africa seems like a place for investments to accelerate this process, do some generation-skipping. what new equipment can do today compared to what old equipment used to require in terms of energy is dramatically different. lot ofve visited a stores in africa and seen what our competition is doing and what we are doing, there is a lot of waste in the system. new money could generate not only more efficiency but a tremendous return. there is some investment opportunity there. >> the other issue is more investment for the private sector. is very much a public sector driven area. we need more legislation that allows the private sector to participate. and then having looked at that, we need to have countries focus on energy sources that make more sense to them. if you look at gas, it is not necessarily the answer to every country. for instance, gas is not easily available in south africa. but is available in nigeria. you need to look at fuel sources that are available and make the most out of th

yet polio kills hundreds of thousands of churn in africa. -- children in africa. the one continent where that these so absolutely overwhelming. the cure for malaria will come from africa, because africa needs it. so that's, i think, as we see the opportunity for the development of africa and the connection of africa is going to be because africans address their own problems in their own unique way, but the solution so relevant to what they need, that it makes it a really feasible solution. so the 750 million young people in africa will participate in that market rather than, perhaps, a western or eastern or north european market. because there is the potential for that market. we take a view that says africa becoming a net producer of knowledge, of technology is where africa needs to go, i think, to break the boundaries of sometimes the physical challenge, but also to create that almost unbelievable inclusiveness that these 55 countries need to figure out how to work on. and they're not there yet. i would argue that we are still far away from getting that. but it'

. >> and yet i'm fascinated by what china has done in africa. united states was africa's leading trade partner until 2009 when the chinese surpassed it. and china's trade with africa to s two to one over the u.s. and china's foreign aid to africa increased. half of their foreign aid goes to africa. outpaced by china? >> yes, we are. and in all fairness to the obama administration they recognize it and now what we want to do is make sure that business understands that and business' job will be to help the president convince congress. >> and the summit has the opportunity to be a game changer. woo he believe we are switching the paradigm and stop looking at africa as a place in need of foreign aid and look at it for the potential it has for investment and whether it's power africa or the president is committing to doubling the power in africa or focusing on food security where rather than simply giving resources to africa teaching africa how to create their own agriculture. whether it's in areas like health, and the enormous investment he is makin

ny last words you other partss behind of the world in africa. there may be other reasons why american companies have not moved to africa with the alacrity that chinese companies have. i do not think it is too late to catch up, and american companies need to spend more time looking for opportunities in africa. private equity is only one small sliver of what we can do. secondly, this is a very good and unusual summit. as i have been too many summits and many business meetings and conferences, the trick is the follow-up. it is not the great meeting, it is the follow-up. i hope there is a mechanism to follow-up this conference, and i am assuming that the commerce department and others will find a mechanism to make sure that this does not happen just once but happens for what lay. -- frequently. k and makelook tak sure to find mechanisms to defend such -- keep in touch. we hope that our growth will be extended for a few years. and that south africa will be included. african and africa are open for business and partnership. >> a great point. welcome to

africa. we are all in this room as being a leader of this country and when you get to africa, you see the american guy two times and write a book about it but doesn't have the perspective. so how can we, people in this room, make that change happen that america can use the real african and tell them what can really happened on the continent and what really matter as the change that we are looking for? >> good question. one more question over here. >> thank you very much. i come from kenya. we operate in a e region where perhaps -- i think my question is back to the panelists, maybe akon is whatever the stories we write, we continue to write about transforming the continent whether you write differently. i think the question in the last panel was around the technology revolution on data and voice. 500 million people connected in the continent shifting the conversations happening today. we have a lot of american investors today. is there a chance -- 55 countries, it's not one story. one is positive and it will be like that for a long time. it's not one africa for us. every single country is differen

africa. but i am proud of my book there are no animals in this book. [laughter] i did not realize until i looked at the manuscript when it was finished no safari's or sunsets. it is a user's manual for the africa you have not heard about. given my background is one here in chicago stake gives a unique perspective on where we've missed the mark like giving direction that here we would say we are on this tree but it will lead the look for the station then if you have real building you go too far. then come back. it is all contextual there is ordinary differences that i seek to eliminate that is not does sensational or gripping as the story of the kidnapping or a multibillion-dollar baking transaction but the real effort said that i try to eliminate an "the bright continent." >> host: talk about how being a home grown chicagoan from a nigerian family, how you approach the store you wanted to tell. >> i spent a lot of time in nigeria. that shuttle diplomacy between washington when i worked as a reporter covering the state department and home hit shows where

how could the women except in about europe or america and africa. african characters should be colorful, exotic, larger than life, but empty inside with no dialogue, no complex resolutions in their stories come in no kirks to confuse the cause. perhaps we could start there since it seems to me that your book is precisely what he's advocating in his essay and that is a portrayal of africans as people with their own agency. and idiosyncrasies and a sense of destiny. so what inspired the project in the first place? were you fed up at the way africa was being reported on from what you call poverty point? >> yes. that is the short answer. first and foremost, thank you all for being here and i'm glad you chose this particular essay, which does have a lot of resonance. he was writing about fiction, but when it comes to nonfiction, my discipline come in the narrative biases replicate ready reference poverty, we been in the most recent weeks where we've been again about the stories that have gotten our attention about africa, it hasn't been -- it is spending

the proper facilities have been what is lacking in west africa. not lackstilleries do in spain or in the united states where the patients have been taken. you get them into isolation and have proper protection of equipment and that there is extremely low risk of anything happening there. the challenge for us is west africa. >> the ebola viruses and legos but they do not know how far it has spread in the densely populated city. this virus has claimed hundreds of lives in africa and now nigeria trying to remain infections remain at a minimum. >> today president obama said the citizens in countries dealing with the outbreak are in our thoughts and prayers. his comments came at that meeting of african leaders who have been in washington over the past few days discussing a range of topics. now by our reporter for the bbc. this is all about trade, but without security u.s. companies do not necessarily want to invest. what were they discussing with regard to security and battling extremism in africa? >> they are trying to delay fears about doing business

peace and security in central africa. this is a region of the hemisphere, of course, where my own country is found, the republic of congo. and in speaking to you today, i will highlight three main points. first of all, i will refer to the state of affairs in central africa in general, underscoring a number of actions undertaken by the congo in its contribution to the resolution of conflict and the consolidation of peace and stability in the region. secondly, i will evoke the multidimensional character of the security challenge in africa. and thirdly, and in conclusion, i will take the liberty in the spirit of humility and friendship to invite america to deepen its links with africa for the sake of bolstering our respective interests. now, ladies and gentlemen, let me begin by giving you a clear idea of the african region that we're going to be talking about this afternoon. central africa is at the very heart of the african continent. it links the north and the south. it spreads from the gulf of guinea to the great lakes re

the opportunity to develop africa will be good for its bottom line in integrating them fully into the business and value-added chain, that is where we will see africa's takeoff becoming sustainable and really laughing. so with that, we will go in the order of sitting here and we will start with the day. >> gray, thank you for having me. it is great to be here this week. i actually started last week we had a trade mission with an energy ministers to houston for oil and gas. the whole affect of getting more people understanding africa and more importantly getting a lot of the african leaders and heads of state and business leaders here is the key thing, which is obviously in a conference. i said earlier as we met, and the other room, it's nice to have a metal bender for all these i.t. guys and telephone guys. we are an infrastructure company. ge, i've been in nairobi for the last three and a half years. we want to put a real focus, so we put senior leaders in a number of different regions. and what i've seen in africa, the growth obviously we all know abo

third, this is the worst outbreak in africa. this is a disease that was unknown in that area before. because of this it has been a particular challenge. this also has been a challenge. fourth, many of the cases have been in urban areas and there has been spread in urban areas. this is something we have not seen spread from this work before. this doesn't appear to be a change in the virus, but it is a new development in how and where the virus is spreading, and it makes control much more difficult. fifth, it is the first time we are having to deal with it here in the united states. that's not merely because of the two people that became ill caring for ebola patients and were brought back to the u.s. by their organization. that's primarily because we are all connected. inevitably there will be travelers who go from these countries or from lagos, if they don't get it under control, and appear here with symptoms. those symptoms might be ebola or something else. so we have to deal with ebola in a way we have never had to deal with it

it has tested positive in africa. the psychological dimension has to be kept in mind. ,ecause of the novelty of this and the immune systems of people in western africa, we are experienced with dealing with the outbreak. u.s. ade has also targeted the response in western africa. we also started supporting and $4ents to unicef, million to support. indeed, it is important to note that the chairman's comments -- ehe outbreak in sierra leon and liberia started in wretch retrospect, we can see it was earlier on. the cases were in the march. for a couple weeks, we have this outbreak. then, in the spring, the initial outbreak went down. if you allow one case -- they can reignite the whole thing. that is what we have seen. so far, it has been truly difficult to control. unicef torked with allow to deploy 30 or so technical experts and provide additional operational support. 35,000 additional sets of equipment and supplies. also, it is very important in this situation -- it is taking place as we speak. servicestment of state and

impact development in south africa. what more needs to be done in terms of security to ensure africa's continued development? >> well, any part of the continent, impact on the continent -- we discussed this in the a.u. continuously. we have tried many remedies. in the recent past, there has been new approaches to the problem that have affected some parts in the central africa, as well as north africa in particular, which was in a sense an overflow of arab problems. we have taken a decision to establish a military capacity by the a.u. to be able to stop these. but the discussions were taking longer. we then thought, instead of going through that process, we better establish an action forth that must be established by volunteering countries in the continent who will have the capacity, the possibility to address these issues so that by the time we come to the ideal situation, but you are in a better position to deal with any matter that is going to arise. what, therefore, we are calling upon from big countries is the suppor

have now tested positive in west africa. the work we do has to be kept in mind. neither the new systems of the people in western africa were experienced in dealing with the outbreak. sad has targeted the response in western africa. we started with $1 million investments. withs been reforms to $12.4 million to support cdc and the like. it is important to note that the outbreak in sierra leone and started, inably retrospect, earlier on. but the cases were identified late. for a couple of weeks, we have the outbreak and then it went down. the initial outbreaks one down. -- went down. one case can reignite the whole thing. that is what we have seen. it has been difficult to control. this investment has allowed us providewith unicef to 30 experts, additional operational support, 35 thousand sets of protective personal equipment and the basics. soap, water you read those things are important in this type of situation. usaid is closely coordinating its responses. the cdc has the lead in the response to the ebola outbreak. has been t

in. thank you so much for your point of view. adama gaye, speaking to us on the u.s.-africa summit, which in his opinion has not been a success. moving on to one small step for a oh, one giant -- for a space probe, one giant move for space exploration. rosetta has met up with a comet. they will make the first ever comment -- comet landing. they hope to gain insight into how planets were formed. you are watching "france 24." the fragile cease-fire in the middle east has made it to a second day. israeli and palestinian delegations hold peace talks to try to extend the truce beyond tomorrow. the u.s. pledges $33 billion in to africa. two americans infected with the ebola virus are now being treated with a new, experimental drug that could bring new hope to controlling the disease that has left 900 dead. time to take a look at what has been grabbing headlines around the world. we have our press reviewer. lots of focus on the situation in the middle east in the midst of this three-day cease-fire. >> the jerusalem -- "the jerusalem post" says, "now the diplomatic war begins." this

what is really fledgling democracies in africa. the good news is we have -- we know how to deal with ebola. there have been 30 or so breaks in central africa. in each of those they were contained. the systems don't have to be perfect. the basics have to be in place. people have to be familiar. uganda has a track record that's worth noting in the year 2000 they had 425 cases during that outbreak. the support that we provided allowed that outbreak to be contained. 2008, only 149 cases. 2/3 reduction. and in the last outbreak in the region, 2011, 2012, the number was only 32. so systems can learn, can prepare, can deal with this outbreak. we have done it many times and as tom said, we know exactly what to do. usaid, provided with team funding to both c.d.c., the world health organization in geneva and africa to have preparedness, planning and response and indeed that has been part of the machinery that has been put in place here. we support about 22 laboratories in 18 countries in africa and asia where almost 500 new viruses have been

invest more in africa? we will get to your comments and your posts in just a bit. e u.s./africa summit getting underway today in washington. it is a largely economic gathering. african leaders converge on the summit. they write it is a largest gathering of african government officials in washington in an effort to bolster the u.s. relationship with one of the world's fastest growing economies but preparations for the historic summit have been overshadowed by the march of the ebola virus in west africa, a crisis that has claimed more than 700 lives and has international health officials scrambling for solutions. here are some comments from the or as well.ct some have cast africa's otential in a new light. an unprecedented three-day conference between u.s. officials and more than 40 african heads of state underscore the gains that have been made in the global economic seep stakes. it will advertise to the american business community and to the international rivals that the u.s. is eyeing africa in a fundamenta

a $5 billion investment in africa. at is a big number, even for blackstone. >> it is a good size number. it is a number that starts to make a dent in the problem that we will be addressing, which is basically power and electricity for africa. it is probably hard to imagine that 70% of the people living in sub-saharan africa do not have electricity. from the perspective of growing up in the developed world myself and probably for most of the viewers, 70% not having electricity is so difficult to contemplate because it impacts development. >> that gets me to the next question, 5 billion is a lot of money, but why now, is u.s. investment somewhat late to the game? have beenly, there two other ways of investment in africa. one was from europe, which has historically been a place as a spear of influence because of geographic location. second came the chinese with development in almost packages in different countries, for theirent purposes, with own engineers, construction companies, and so forth. the u.s. is now looking at a

in africa?e're curious to hear. >> is it just finance? >> is a governmental? is it business? does it go beyond resources? is it relatively cheap labor? what is the opportunity? >> the answer to me is a lot more sophisticated than we think. >> let's start there. >> we admittedly are painfully ignorant. >> there was a quiet moment on friday with their jobs coverage. bill gross dropped a bombshell in our conversation. he brought front and center the issue of discrete and separate events coalescing into a liquidity event. he did not equate what we are seeing, but makes clear that argentina, ukraine, and portugal deserve full attention. a professor at columbia , a professor of financial institutions. with us as well, hans humes, the ceo and founder of greylock capital. professor, let me start with you. all of these little events. orsn't speak again of 1998 1994 or 2006? >> i don't think so. i think the portuguese banking problem is a slow-moving train wreck, not a big news event. and in a small count

today, 50% of the people in africa have a smart phone. run telephone lines all over the continent. you do not have to do that in this day and age. there are satellite communications, cellular communications, and the same thing is true for commerce, there is air today, which you did not have before. and recently in south africa, cape town, johannesburg, bus cities. do they have poor people who need help? absolutely. so do we and we have to take care of our poor, and they have got to take care of theirs, and sometimes we can help each other, but they have the spirit. you look on the street and you say wait a second, these cities are going to be real competitive. >> urbanization africa, big cities, potential for finance -- is africa going -- when you look at finance, investment vehicles, are they going to be the new asia? what is the next hong kong and africa? >> it is going to take a wild. the generation, 20 years, that goes pretty stocky, but there are exchanges alter africa. they traded derivatives. there is all sorts of financing that wil

particularly in raw africa. you do not need a lot of capital to get started. weaponbuy one piece of a -- of equipment that can increase deals for a whole bunch of farmers in the community and then the additional profits that they make allows you to buy two pieces of equipment and then four and then eight, you can grow fairly rapidly because the baseline of capital in that community may be relatively low. so you do not necessarily have huge barriers of entry. you just have to make sure that you have that initial capital. of course, even a small amount of capital can be hard to come by. this iswhy making sure a top priority of our efforts is something that we will emphasize. a gentleman's turn. i am going to call on this guy just because he is so tall. i always like height. [laughter] there you go. ok. go ahead. >> thank you. i am from senegal. obama is the first president of the united states from africa. i would like to know, can you issues you will discuss with the president of the united nations of africa? i am sorry, i am the first african-american president

ebola's a huge risk in africa. it's not going to be a huge risk in the u.s. >> yeah.t's clear that the resources are more readily available in the united states. they're better. but that human element, again, you're knowingly bringing a patient with ebola into the united states, a virus that has not been here. and if there is some sort of lapse in the human element of precautions, i mean, how do you tell your neighbors, you live here in atlanta, how do you tell your neighbors and frankly people in the united states that we are a 100% confident this isn't going to turn into something more, even if it isn't a mass outbreak, how can you tell people to be 100% confident that someone else won't die or get sick as a result of this decision? >> ebola does not spread by casual contact. and it doesn't spread by somebody who's not ill. it spreads when people get sicker and sicker and sicker the amount of virus in their body increases and so the risk in africa is the health care workers who are caring for them and in the burial process. those are the two things that are driving

>> we're going to weigh the risks of doing business in west africa. good morning. a warm welcome to those waking up in the united states. i am guy johnson and we are live from bloomberg here in london. the banks are a big theme in europe. what me assure you of that. is gettingito santo a bailout from portugal. profits fell by 12%. that missed analysts asked him it's -- estimates. let's figure out what is going on. jonathan ferro and manus cranny are with me. bes, it looks so simple. >> i don't think it is that simple. you have a bailout. you have some money left over from the bailout support to recapitalize the banker in that goes to read capitalize the bank. are going toeople bear the brunt like the shareholders. a lot of analysts are saying. my take away is within two share price has dropped 70%. you have seen a bailout. this has played out in almost no time at all. this is just before those stress tests later this year. >> despite the fact that there is a clear sovereign link, this money is coming from the lens of -- resolution fund. how is the fund being funded?

republic and other regions in africa impact development in south africa? what more needs to be done in terms of security to ensure africa's continuing development. we have tried many remedies in terms of peacemaking and peacekeeping. past there hast been new approaches to the problem that have affected some , as wellentral africa as north africa in particular, which was in a sense an overflow of the arab problems. we have taken a decision to a military capacity to be able to stop these. the discussions were taking longer. going through that process, we better establish an action force that must be established by countries in the continent. will have the capacity, possibility to address these issues so that by the time we come to the ideal situation you are in a better position to deal with any matter that is going to arise. what therefore we are calling upon from countries is the support of the initiative by the african countries. that they support the initiative . i think that is one point we will make two president barack obama. >> related question, south

what about the other hundred of people in africa who have come down in ebola. why aren't they receiving it? >> it's a very fair question and certainly the folks at the nih and the fda should be answering, as well. i will tell you this, that typically what happens in these situations is, you know, this is an unusual thing that happened. typically medications go through a trial process. they're tested to see if they are safe, tested to see if they're effected and tests are made to see if you can offer them more broadly to larger numbers of people. that didn't happen here. it was a little bit of a hail mary to say let's give this medication to someone who is really, really sick, got his consent from what i'm told and he understood the risks and took the medication. i think they'll want more data, wolf, before saying, look, hundreds of other people, thousands of other people should start taking this and they'll want more data to make sure it's the right thing to do. two patients alone, one patient alone, that's not enough data for them to make decisions. >> these a

in the case of africa. re taking the learning we have done in other parts of the world to invest in supplemented areas where it is needed. but all of us need to do that. we want to take the fresh produce and reach to small and medium holders, enable them to be more productive in their yields to provide houses where they need them and to put the pieces in place to put the system that supplies the store which creates jobs for value goods and more commodity type items to lift the whole thing and have a system that works. for to us say long-term prop siggeds, we invested $2.6 billion in 2011. that is just the beginning. what we are expecting and the reason we made the investment is that we think the whole do the e going to right thing to create the right rule it is and the right transparency and the ip frastructure investments so president whole thing works. we want to do our part. one of the benefits we are tapping into the sources of supply for produce and wine and exporting them out of africa and selling them