New appointment to US council on Doing Business in Africa

Jay Ireland, president and CEO of GE Africa

The newly established Council will provide President Barack Obama, through the Secretary of Commerce, with information, analysis, and recommendations on trade and investment priorities with Africa.

Since Ireland was appointed in 2011, GE has invested in a series of programmes aimed at growing African economies. Earlier this year, GE committed to investing over $2bn in Africa by 2018. This investment will target facility development, skills training and sustainability initiatives.

"I am deeply honoured by my appointment to the advisory council. The appointment reaffirms not only GE's commitment to the continent but also the U.S. government's focus on strengthening its relationship with Africa," Ireland said.

Manufacturing capabilities

Under Ireland's leadership, GE has invested in developing manufacturing capabilities across the continent. In Nigeria, GE is investing more than $1bn over five years to build technical expertise and infrastructure capacity across various sectors of the Nigerian economy.

In South Africa, GE has partnered with Transnet to deliver 233 locomotives while creating an original locomotive manufacturer to revitalise the rolling stock industry. In addition, GE has committed to investing R700m in a local customer innovation centre and supplier development vehicle. These initiatives will enable the development of critical skills and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the country.

"GE's significant investment in the Power Africa initiative is helping unlock the substantial wind, solar, hydro power, natural gas, and geothermal resources in the continent to enhance energy security, decrease poverty, and advance economic growth across the continent," Patrick H. Gaspard, US Ambassador to South Africa, added.

Grants awarded

"In collaboration with the US Africa Development Foundation and USAID, GE launched the Power Africa Off-Grid Energy Challenge and awarded six $100,000 grants to local enterprises to develop and expand off-grid solutions. Now in its second phase, the challenge has expanded to cover all six Power Africa countries by including Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, and Tanzania," he said.

With over 100 years of experience working in Africa, GE is uniquely positioned to increase access, reliability, and affordability of core infrastructure throughout the continent. Over the past 15 years, Africa has emerged as the most promising growth region for GE, exceeding world growth by an average of two percentage points by year.