The Last Word: Axxess’ John Olajide on the U.S.‑Africa Business Summit in Dallas May 6‑9

Image: Corporate Council on Africa

John Olajide
Founder and CEO
Axxess Health
.…on the 2024 U.S.‑Africa Business Summit, being held in Dallas May 6‑9.

John Olajide [Image: DI; Axxess; Kanet Chumpu-in./istockphoto]

Today through Wednesday, the 2024 U.S.-Africa Business Summit is being held in Dallas at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center.

Olajide—who founded and helms Dallas-based healthcare tech unicorn Axxess and chairs the Corporate Council on Africa—noted that this is the first time the summit is being held in the U.S. since 2017, and it’s the first one held outside Washington D.C. in 12 years.

The summit is slated to bring together over 1,500 distinguished leaders from both the U.S. and Africa, from both the public and private sectors. African heads of state have traveled to Dallas for the event, along with international investors, senior government officials from the U.S. and Africa, Fortune 500 executives, leading small businesses, and key stakeholders from multilateral organizations, the city said

“Where else will businesses in Dallas have an opportunity to talk to several presidents [and] be up close with them?” Olajide asked the Dallas Business Journal. “Instead of having to take a trip to 54 African countries to go learn, they will come to you at your doorstep with all the information you need. This is a historic gift for our community and for our business community in particular. I cannot wait for how all the benefits reverberate for decades to come.”

It’s not just the opportunity that’s special, he notes, but the international impact of where the summit is happening. 

“When people think of the U.S., they think of New York or Los Angeles. But we wanted to showcase Dallas because what’s happening here is special,” Olajide told the Dallas Morning News. “This is the most prosperous economic region in the country, maybe the world. There’s magic here, so I had to work with my colleagues to make this event happen here.”

Both publications’ stories offer keen insights into what’s happening at the summit this week. You can read even more about it—including today’s planned ribbon-cutting for the Tanzania American Chamber of Commerce—in our April story.

For more of who said what about all things North Texas, check out Every Last Word.

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