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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah businesses have a new point of contact for doing business in Africa — the newly launched non-profit African Chamber of Commerce of Utah (ACCU).
For several years, Utah African business owners, including ACCU President Sabina Zunguze, who owns an [import artisan business](
"When it comes to international trade, we're talking about different cultures and different ways of doing business," Zunguze said. "This is a wonderful opportunity to network and to provide education."
The goal of the new chamber is to strengthen Utah's business relationship with Africa's emerging economies, which business analysts say have shown resilience in the light of a global down-turn.
According to the ACCU, Nigeria sustained 7 percent economic growth within the last 10 years, Angola's economy has been expanding at about 15 percent, and Ghana, which grew at a rate of 13 percent in 2011, is now at an 8 percent growth.
South Africa is still a business leader on the continent and has seen a very sustainable growth with a GDP of over $400 billion in per capita income.
These are the kind of numbers that has countries like China already investing in Africa said Zunguze.
"The United States now is looking at Africa as being one of those growing areas where you can invest," she said.
A 2012 report from the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) World Economic Outlook indicated that 11 of the world's 20 fastest-growing economies are in Africa, and this booming economic growth has helped create the fastest-growing middle class in the world.
"There's so much resources, labor, and infrastructure has grown," Zunguze said. "There's agriculture, textiles, and we have minerals like gold and diamonds."
Zunguze says she hopes the combination of strong economic growth, education, and rich resources will rid the perceptions that some typically have about African countries.
"People tend to associate Africa with AIDS, poverty, and political strife. And there are areas that are struggling," Zunguze said. "But in terms of business, it's really thriving."
In collaboration with the Governor's Office of Education, the Salt Lake Chamber, and the World Trade Center Utah, the newly launched chamber will host a "Doing Business in Africa" event Friday, September 6, 2013 at the World Trade Center, 60 E South Temple St #300, Salt Lake City, UT 84111 from 8:30am to 12 noon.
