Seattle businessmen see lots of prospects in Africa

At a time when media headlines from Africa seem grim, some Seattle businessmen see hope. Ebola has been front and center of late and conflicts throughout the continent have been the focus of radio programs and movies during the last couple decades.
Robert Smith sees promise there though.

"They're crying out for infrastructural help," he said. "They're crying out for development."
Smith is CEO for EarthWise Ferries, a company that will invest millions across Africa, including places like Tanzania and Uganda. He's also working to put a ferry system along the West African coastline, including some of those cities making headlines because of Ebola.
Smith said companies are not just focused on providing aid, though, but business investments across Africa.
"It's accompanied with the risks that you face in any developing world, like the U.S.A. a hundred years ago," Smith said. "The opportunities to be involved in Africa and make money are just abounding."

Peter Gishuru, who came to the U.S. from Kenya in 1963, is now president and CEO of the African Chamber of Commerce of the Pacific Northwest. His main goals now are to educate Pacific Northwest companies about how to do business with Africa as well as providing African immigrants more opportunity locally.

Next Saturday, the Chamber of Commerce is hosting a business forum in Seattle. The event will focus on business and trade opportunities between the region and Africa.
"American companies are beginning to take Africa seriously because other than China and India, Africa is where the economy is growing," he said. "A lot of African airlines buy airplanes from Boeing. Microsoft, a lot of Africans now are into technology. Starbucks, they get coffee from Africa. So there's a strong influence and strong business connections."
The conversation about Ebola often comes up.

"Let's be very clear. What's going on in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia now is tragic and demands the world's attention," said Access Global CEO Matthew Tirman, who helps companies invest in pioneer markets. "But if I'm a mining company looking at exploring new opportunities in Africa, if I'm a franchise company here in the U.S. looking to expand, you can't ignore the continent."

He points to markets like Ethiopia, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"It's truly the last continent with such a growing young population and a huge rising middle class," Tirman said. "Once you start seeing those walls come down, you're going to see a huge potential for commercial and retail operations throughout entire continent."

To learn more about events with the Chamber, you can log onto African Chamber of Commerce of the Pacific Northwest website.