Robert Riegle is senior vice president for business development at Academi, a Virginia-based company that deals with providing security services in high-risk areas around the world. He was part of a team of about 20 American business leaders who visited Nairobi recently on a trade mission.

Speaking to AFKInsider on the sidelines of a networking forum between the visiting delegation and East African business leaders, he said that although he was keen on getting into partnerships with local firms, the main problem was finding companies with a high profile and sufficient capability.

“If I am protecting 200 State Department people in Somalia, I’ve got to get food, hotel services, and other support services like telecommunications to them, all of which we don’t do. So, we go out and look for local companies in whatever region we are in to partner with to do those things,” Riegle said.

“You can imagine that we are protecting 2,000 State Department staff in Afghanistan right now, and what the logistics are. I don’t want to have to think too hard about how to put those logistics in place. I want a company that’s doing business with me to make that effort. And so, the company I am going to partner with has to be the one that’s best prepared and makes the best case, without having me to help them a whole lot because I have to do the job to keep these people safe,” he added.

Riegle said that Academi had invested $145 million in Afghanistan, and was prepared to invest anything from $5-50 million in East Africa.

Wayne Long, the managing partner of Seafarer International located in Maryland, said he was in Kenya to negotiate for work as a contractor or sub-contractor in port construction. “The reason for my interest here is to explore the possibility of our participation as contractors in the two seaports that you are building, both expansion of the port of Mombasa to a free port with more berthing space, and the new port in Lamu.”

The company also deals with security services, including advisory services, assessment and training.

Long added that he had been briefed about Kenya’s public-private partnership program, which he said was also his company’s policy. “We never do anything in Africa without a local partner, always. In marine construction, we can teach local construction companies skills that are rare in Africa, such as sub-surface assessment and salvage.”

The American investors at the forum said they will work through the Washington-based Corporate Council for Africa (CCA) to obtain partnerships with East African companies.

At the business-to-business networking forum, CCA President Stephen Hayes said he was determined to fulfil the organization’s commitments under a memo of understanding signed with the East African Business Council (EABC) in September.

Hayes, who was accompanied by his senior advisor Katrin Kuhlmann, led the team in a meeting with some 70 East African business leaders. The visiting trade delegation was also due to visit Ethiopia.

Looking For Opportunities

The American businesses were drawn from a wide range of industries, including infrastructure (communications, transport, road and rail), banking, agri-businesss, energy, construction, and maritime construction. The security services and humanitarian sector were also represented.

Under the terms of the agreement between the umbrella private-sector organizations, CCA will collaborate with EABC on mutually-agreed activities; inform their east African partners on political and economic matters affecting regional integration and US-Africa trade and investment; provide US private-sector position on agreed-upon priority areas; invite them to participate in CCA events and programs.

EABC, on its part, will be expected to avail to their American counterpart information on the region’s integration bloc process as may be appropriate; provide the position of the region’s private sector’s on agreed priority areas; and participate in CCA activities subject to availability of resources, among other things.

The two organizations also pledged to work together to advocate for beneficial trade and good investment climate in the two regions; to work together at the business-to-business level under the EAC-US Commercial Dialogue component within the Trade and Investment Partnership agreement and to exchange information on business opportunities in both east Africa and the US.

EABC chairman, Vimal Shah, said that the interaction with the private sector in the US will help East Africa’s business leaders to develop partnerships that will lead to business growth, bigger business ventures and bigger investments.

“The region (EAC) has vast investment opportunities in the ICT, tourism, agro-processing, mining, fishing, manufacturing, construction and services as well as roads, railways, ports, telecommunications, and energy among other programs,” Shah told the conference.