from ADANE BIKILA in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Ethiopia Bureau
ADDIS ABABA, (CAJ News) – AFRICAN governments and private sector leaders have been urged to support the economic empowerment of black entrepreneurs and prioritizing black-owned businesses abroad.
The Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) made the appeal at the just ended United States-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington.
Kamil Olufowobi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, said it was estimated that the presence of African delegations contributed millions of dollars to the US economy, with mandatory diplomatic travel and tourism spend including personal expenditures.
“We appeal to our African public and private sector leaders to become intentional about driving Black Economic Empowerment in the USA and across the Diaspora,” Olufowobi said.
“The plan is to simply leverage their presence in these international cities to create a support mechanism and economic security for Black entrepreneurs,’ the official added.
“This will help advance Black entrepreneurship and Black-owned businesses as many recover from the pandemic,” Olufowobi said.
MIPAD believes the governments and private sector leaders from Africa must make it a policy to be patronizing black businesses when they attend international events and have official visits outside of Africa to the Diaspora.
Since 2017, MIPAD has been working in support of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (UN IDPAD).
Proclaimed by the UN General Assembly Resolution 68/237, the decade will be observed from 2015 to 2024.
– CAJ News