Johannesburg, South Africa – Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and Chair Reta Jo Lewis recently traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa as part of the U.S. delegation, led by U.S Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai and Commerce Department Deputy Secretary Don Graves, to the 2023 African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum from November 2-4.
During the forum, Chair Lewis spoke about EXIM’s congressional mandate to support U.S. exporters looking to do business in sub-Saharan Africa and emphasized the agency’s deep commitment to strengthening the U.S.-Africa economic partnership. Last fiscal year, EXIM authorized an estimated $1.6 billion worth of transactions in sub-Saharan Africa.
“EXIM’s deep commitment to sub-Saharan Africa is written in our founding charter, and we are firmly committed to financing U.S. exporters, large and small, doing business with African nations,” EXIM President and Chair Reta Jo Lewis said.
“It was a pleasure to join my colleagues at AGOA to share some of our strong work on the continent and express our strong desire to continue advancing transactions that support U.S. exporters and promote economic prosperity for the U.S. and our partner nations in Africa.”
On November 4, Chair Lewis co-chaired a panel on empowering trade and investment between the U.S. and Africa and delivered remarks to government representatives about women’s entrepreneurship and economic empowerment.
Chair Lewis also attended meetings with Ebrahim Patel, South Africa’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, and Anthony Costa, the Investment Lead in the Private Office of the President of South Africa. This visit marks the fourth time Chair Lewis has travelled to Africa during her tenure as President and Chair of EXIM’s Board of Directors.
