U.S., African Business Leaders Gather to Advance a Bold Strategy to Reduce Global Poverty
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Prominent corporate leaders will convene this week at the Initiative for Global Development (IGD) National Summit to advance reforms to U.S. foreign aid and trade policies, and discuss private sector strategies to reduce global poverty. At the Summit, co-chaired by Madeleine K. Albright and Colin L. Powell, IGD business leaders will call on the Obama administration to champion better policies that improve the lives of the world’s poorest people.
“Global poverty will be reduced only if the United States uses the full complement of its policies—aid, trade, investment and technical assistance—to promote economic growth,” said Jennifer Potter, IGD President & CEO. “Business leaders also have a role to play. In difficult economic times, working together to improve the lives of poor people around the world is the right thing to do, and is one of the most powerful steps we can take in creating a better future for all.”
At the Summit, IGD, in collaboration with Dalberg Global Development Advisors, will present the inaugural class of Frontier 100 CEOs, an IGD program to identify the most successful CEOs operating in the developing world and connect them with CEOs from the United States and Europe.
Frontier 100 will create opportunities for these leaders to collaborate and catalyze economic growth in developing countries. Members of the first group of frontier CEOs are from Africa, representing businesses with average annual revenues of more than $100 million. Subsequent groups will come from other regions, such as Southeast Asia and Central America.
Corporate leaders from the United States participating in the Summit include CEOs Jeff Immelt of GE, Terry McGraw of the McGraw-Hill Companies and Tim Solso of Cummins Inc.
Frontier CEOs participating in the program include Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi (Kenya), Kingdom Zephyr Investments CEO Kofi Bucknor (Ghana) and MIFA Group CEO Abdullah Alaoui (Morocco).
“These are some of Africa’s top business leaders,” said Tim Solso. “Their businesses have already had a positive impact by creating jobs in some of the world’s poorest countries. This exciting program offers a unique opportunity for CEOs from all over the world to exchange knowledge and promote development.”
The Summit will focus discussions on IGD’s primary objectives, including foreign aid and trade policy reforms to ensure that long-term investment in productivity are top U.S. policy priorities. The Summit will result in a concrete agenda around which IGD partners and the wider business community can engage over the next two years.
Contacts
Initiative for Global Development (IGD)
Mala Persaud, 202-572-2980
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