Penny Pritzker, United States, U.S., Secretary of Commerce, has concluded the first leg of her fact-finding mission in Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria. She was joined by a group of senior U.S. business executives comprising the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa, PAC-DBIA, charged with advising the Secretary of Commerce and the President on ways to strengthen commercial engagement between the U. S. and Africa.

The council is expected to develop an actionable set of recommendations for President Obama on how U.S. government programmes and policies can better support economic engagement between Africa and the U.S.

In Lagos, Pritzker hosted a roundtable with the American Business Council which allowed PAC-DBIA members to hear about the opportunities and challenges facing the American business community in specific sectors in Nigeria, including: power, services, information and communications technology, ICT, transportation, agriculture, and healthcare. Pritzker and the Council also met with the Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce to discuss the issues inhibiting more business between the U.S. and Nigeria as well as opportunities in the top sectors.

At an entrepreneurship event hosted by Tony Elumelu Foundation, Pritzker highlighted how the American private sector, working in partnership with the African business community and entrepreneurs, can help address many of the continent’s most pressing challenges, including creating jobs and opportunity for young people across the continent.

Pritzker also hosted a panel discussion with Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, TEEP, businesspersons to learn more about the challenges entrepreneurs face when opening a business and how the international business community can better support entrepreneurs in Africa. PAC-DBIA members were then able to participate in direct and substantive discussions with Africa’s emerging leaders and discuss the opportunities and challenges businesses face in the region.

In Abuja, Pritzker met with President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss how to bolster U.S.-Nigeria economic and commercial ties. She also hosted a roundtable with Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President, and several ministers to discuss the ease of doing business in Nigeria.