Gene A. Cretz – US Ambassador to Ghana
It is a great pleasure to serve as an Ambassador for the “American brand” in an African country. It is also a great pleasure to join you this morning to kick off the 4th Annual African AmCham Summit. I am a huge fan of the Chamber of Commerce, and as Simon and Philippe know, I am proud to promote their efforts in Ghana. Let’s give them, the local AmCham Ghana Board, and the representatives from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington – Scott Eisner and Danielle Walker – a round of applause for their hard work on this conference and for their support of American business in Ghana.
As you all know, American Chambers of Commerce throughout sub-Saharan Africa play a critical role in assisting and stimulating the creation of businesses and facilitation of investments needed to promote the American brand. Chambers effectively communicate the message that American companies want to cultivate professional development and produce sustainable and equitable economic expansion across Africa. When President Obama returned to Africa last year, he emphasized that a key element of his engagement with Africa “has been to promote trade and investment that can create jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.”
It is difficult to imagine how this would be possible without assistance, resources, and leadership from the continent’s AmChams. Without the AmChams we cannot achieve our goals of increasing our commercial engagement on the continent and speeding up this continent’s complete integration into the global economy. From my experience, our willingness to partner through coordinated messaging or joint actions is the best way to ensure that our efforts – whether they be to promote a new company entering into the marketplace or to contest polices inimical to investment – yield the results we seek. As a staunch promoter of the American brand, let me share a couple of thoughts with you on how we can make the case for the American brand.
During my time as a representative of the U.S. government, I have been amazed how the local government, private sector, and citizens value the important and meaningful role the United States’ private sector plays in developing the local economy. I believe that the value placed on our products and services based on five common features that are associated with our very best companies – our innovative spirit, our reliance on local talent, our strong business values, our sound environmental practices and our commitment to community.
Innovative Spirit: The United States is an incubator of innovative and entrepreneurial companies, many of which spread their best practices through their partnerships with communities.
Reliance on Local Talent: Our most dynamic companies recognize that the face of American business is a local face. These businesses respect and treat their workers as their most valuable assets, providing significant training, career development and opportunities for upward mobility.
Strong Business Values: For our companies, profitability and doing the right thing go hand-in-hand. This means adhering to local laws; operating in an ethical and transparent manner; and being accountable to customers, shareholders and society.
Sound Environmental Practices: a large and growing number of American companies share strong commitments to sound environmental practices at home and take that commitment abroad. They view these practices as good business — good for their brand, good for the country in which they are operating, and good for the planet.
Commitment to Community: Our companies are helping improve the communities in which we live and work. By engaging with local communities and civil society, American companies truly do well by doing good.
For me, these are the positive attributes that distinguish the American brand and make the brand so much more than just quality products. I hope you can join me in spreading the full story of the American brand.
As the American Ambassador to Ghana, it is an honor to work alongside our local chamber of commerce. I hope that the seminars and interactions during this conference will improve the capacity of you and your organizations to continue to serve as fellow Ambassadors for the “American brand”.
Source: US Embassy
