July 25, 2024  Kigali, Rwanda and San Francisco, USA

Bio Usawa Inc. Co-Founder and CEO, Menghis Bairu, MD, met with several international change-making leaders during this week’s conference on The Future of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.  

The conference brought together accomplished leaders of civil society organizations, business, and governments from across Africa and the United States to advocate for the re-authorization of AGOA, which is set to expire in 2025. The Act, signed into law by Congress in May 2000, was designed with a focus on assisting the economies of sub-Saharan Africa and to strengthen economic relations between the United States and African countries. It provides eligible countries with duty-free access to the U.S. market for nearly 2000 products, in addition to the more than 5000 products that are covered under the Generalized System of Preferences program. 

The powerful slate of distinguished speakers included The Honorable Jonathan Jackson (US representative, Illinois), and The Honorable Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (US Representative, Florida), H.E. Julien Paluku Kahongya (Minister Commerce Exterior, Democratic Republic of the Congo), and H.E. Hilda Suka-Mafudze, African Union Ambassador to the United States among others (see below).