By Aliah D. Wright

African and African-American business leaders told an Obama Administration official that Marylanders who want to do business in Africa face a number of challenges, but are determined to do business there just the same.

Among the difficulties: overcoming stereotypes, the failure of Americans to grasp the nuances of language and culture, competition from other countries, and the dissemination of incorrect information by the federal government.

A standing-room only crowd of more than three-dozen people showed up for the roundtable discussion held at the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corp. in Largo on January 20. The event was sponsored by the EDC’s Africa Trade Office, whose mission is to foster business relationships between local businesses and Africa.

Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Florizelle Liser presided over the forum. She told attendees that there are a plethora of moneymaking opportunities in Africa.

“Africa has 10 percent of the world’s oil; 9 percent of the world’s gas. It has all these rich minerals, yet 2 percent of the world’s trade. There is a lot of opportunity in those very sectors—natural gas, petroleum, diamonds, as well as manufactured products and agribusiness,” Liser said. There is a huge potential for companies hoping to get “a piece of the global trading system,” but there are challenges as well.

One of those challenges is competition from other countries such as Russia, China and nations in the Middle East.

According to one of the panelists, Dr. Sharon Freeman, author of China, Africa, and the African Diaspora: Perspectives, the “entire government of China is working in lockstep with its private sector,” to facilitate business. She said the Chinese know “up to the minute” about potential investing opportunities and are able to reach out in ways to help—often financially.

“The Chinese we cannot compete with,” Liser said, but added Americans have “better products and better goods and services.”

Some panelists discussed ways to sweeten their proposals, like introducing “value added” programs, like training.

Other challenges include the dissemination of what some panelists called incorrect information on the U.S. State Department’s website. The site lists details about foreign countries, including travel advisories.

One African attendee said he has had Americans pull out of business deals because of incorrect information about a country’s lack of security.

“I don’t know how we overcome this,” Liser said, adding that any potential investors should be told not to rely solely on one source of information before making business deals. She said investors can and should be told to consider that the U.S. would never send its dignitaries anywhere that isn’t safe.

“You have to have a back up strategy—instead of saying ‘change what’s on the website,’ tell them to go someplace else” for information.

“The best education for businesses is businesses getting together,” Liser said. She encouraged attendees to network with each other. The best education comes from other private sector people who are on the ground successfully doing business in Africa, she said.