Kenyan President Planning Atlanta Stop During U.S. State Visit in May

Updated May 7 at 2:17 p..m. with statement from the office of Mayor Andre Dickens.

Kenyan President William Ruto is set to headline a business forum in Atlanta later this month as he visits the U.S. for a state visit to Washington.

Local organizers are working with the Kenyan National Chamber of Commerce and Industry to finalize details for business-to-business forum and executive roundtable sometime between May 20-22, Global Atlanta has learned.

In a notice soliciting select Kenyan diaspora members to join Mr. Ruto at the White House, Kenya’s embassy in Washington noted that a “diaspora engagement event” was being planned for Atlanta, with further details to come.

Olubunmi Jinadu, the Atlanta-based founder of Interglobe IEG, has been tapped by the Kenyan chamber to organize the on-the-ground business meetings around the presidential visit.

Mr. Jinadu, who has been heavily involved in Africa-focused initiatives around soccer and entertainment, also helped catalyze the Georgia Africa Legislative Caucus, a group in the state legislature pushing forward economic ties with the continent.

Engaging the diaspora, he said, is key to helping Americans overcome cultural differences that can arise when pursuing business opportunities in places like Kenya.

“The involvement of Africans in the diaspora is integral to advancing trade initiatives, most especially under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement,” Mr. Jinadu told Global Atlanta, underscoring the opportunities afforded by a new free-trade area encompassing 54 countries.

State Rep. Segun Adeyina, a Democrat from Georgia’s 110th District in Grayson and a Nigeria native, said the caucus is pushing forward with its goal of fostering mutually beneficial business relationships with Africa.

Visits like that of Mr. Ruto and a May 10-13 stop by Liberian President Joseph Boakai in Atlanta show how African leaders are targeting Georgia for exchanges in agriculture, technology, health and other industries vital to the continent’s growth and development.

“A lot of people gravitate to where they’re from originally because you want to see that place prosper, even if you don’t move back,” said Mr. Adeyina, one of three current Nigerian-Americans in the state legislature and co-chair of the Georgia Africa caucus. “The only way you can help, especially with African countries, is to increase trade opportunities.”

In a speech at the American Chamber of Commerce Business Summit in Nairobi April 24-25, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman, the Silicon Valley executive-turned-diplomat, touched on similar themes and suggested that President Ruto was headed to Atlanta.

While highlighting the power of the textile industry for job creation, Ms. Whitman called out Vivo Fashion Group CEO Wandia Gichuru, who is planning to open the African clothing retailer’s first store in Atlanta in May.

“And guess who the first visitor is going to be? The president of Kenya,” Ms. Whitman said to an applauding audience in a video posted on Vivo Fashion Group’s LinkedIn page. (A transcript of Ms. Whitman’s prepared remarks on the U.S. Embassy website had the Vivo shoutout and Atlanta mention but did not mention the president).

During a fireside chat at the conference, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo noted that the state visit will be the first time an American president has formally hosted an African head of state since 2008.

“It’s a historic opportunity, and I can’t wait to expose you to the U.S. private sector and Congress,” Ms. Raimondo told the president and Ms. Whitman. “Because think you will blow their socks off and really open their eyes to all the opportunity there is here in Kenya.”

Mayor Andre Dickens issued a news release Tuesday asserting that the president’s “reflects the city’s vibrant growth and global importance.” More from the release:

The Kenyan President will meet with civic leaders and luminaries from Atlanta’s global services industries, creative economy and international health institutions, and further discuss with Mayor Dickens strategies in the development of affordable housing. President Ruto’s visit to Atlanta will strengthen partnerships in business, technology and innovation, education and with the African Diaspora. Mayor Dickens looks forward to welcoming President Ruto for this historic visit that will forge a new relationship between Atlanta and the Republic of Kenya built upon shared goals and opportunities for both the American and Kenyan people.  

City of Atlanta Press Release