The US Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker is to lead 20 American companies on an Energy Business Development trade mission to West Africa.
A statement issued in Accra by Pritzker said the mission would visit Ghana and Nigeria from May 18-23.
The visit is to promote U.S. exports and expand the presence of U.S. companies in Africa by helping American firms launch or increase their business in the energy sector.
The companies joining the mission have the expertise to help African countries develop and manage energy resources and systems, as well as build out power generation, transmission, and distribution.
The statement said the fast-growing economies in Africa were a high priority for the Obama Administration and the Department of Commerce because there was a huge potential for U.S. companies to sell their goods and services in countries like Ghana and Nigeria, which had energy needs that US firms had expertise to address.
In the coming months, the Department’s International Trade Administration would more than double its presence in Africa, opening their first-ever offices in Angola, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Mozambique.
Offices in Kenya, Ghana, Morocco, and Libya will also be expanded.
The statement also said with more than 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lacking access to electricity, the power development challenge was enormous.
According to the International Energy Agency, sub-Saharan Africa needs more than $300 billion in investments to achieve universal electricity access by 2030 – far beyond the capacity of any traditional development programme.
With these critical investments, the Department of Commerce would be able to increase assistance to U.S. businesses navigating markets in Africa, and help them sell their goods and services in even more places around the world.