US President Barack Obama speaks at a meeting of the US-Africa Business
Forum in Washington, DC, on August 5, 2014. AFP PHOTO | SUUL LOEB
WASHINGTON, DC
President
Barack Obama on Tuesday cited a Kenya-born entrepreneur as an example
of how investors can benefit from trade between the United States and
Africa.
Mr Obama mentioned Ms Kusum Kavia at a business forum in the ongoing US-Africa summit in Washington.
Ms
Kavia, a Kenyan of Indian descent, moved to the United States in the
1980s. She and her husband, Mukund Kavia, also born in Kenya, launched a
power-generation manufacturing company in California in 1989.
The Kavias' company, Combustion Associates, started exporting power generators to Benin in West Africa, Mr Obama noted.
“It
was a win-win for everybody. It was a win for the company's suppliers
in Texas, Ohio and New York, and a win for Benin and its people,” he
said.
'POWER AFRICA' PROGRAMME
A
US government agency helped Ms Kavia launch her business, Mr Obama
said, suggesting that such assistance can help spur trade with Africa.
Kenya
is one of six countries chosen to take part in the Obama administration
programme that aims to bring electricity to 20 million Africans in the
next five years.
US officials have been touting "Power
Africa" at this week's summit as an example of a public-private
partnership that will improve living conditions on the continent.
Also
announced at Tuesday's business forum was a $250 million US investment
warranty to support construction and operation of the Lake Turkana Wind
Project.
The 310-megawatt wind farm, the largest in
Africa, is projected to boost Kenya's electricity-generating capacity by
20 per cent and to produce power for some 2.5 million Kenyans
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