VZCZCXYZ0002
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHNM #0945 3341803
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301803Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY NIAMEY
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 5487
UNCLAS NIAMEY 000945
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EAID PREL SOCI NR
SUBJECT: Nominees to Presidential Entrepreneurship Summit
REF: STATE 112468
1. In response to reftel request, post nominates ten individuals to
represent Niger at the Presidential Entrepreneurship Summit to be
held during the first quarter of 2010. Representing a cross-section
of Niger's small business community, these individuals are likely to
have the means and the motivation to travel to the United States for
this event. (Note: Other potential nominees representing very
small businesses and/or non-governmental organizations were
identified as requiring travel funding in order to participate. End
note.)
2. Embassy Niamey nominates:
a. Ms. Djamila Massaoudou is a young (31 years old), very dynamic,
and self-made businesswoman. As founder and President of Djamila
Pressing, she employs more than 70 workers on four sites at her
modern dry cleaning and laundry facilities in Niamey, and plans on
expanding in the upcoming months.
b. Mr. Sidi-Ahmed Seidnaly Alphadi is a world-renowned fashion
designer who is committed to the development of the tourist and
economic sectors in Niger. Mr. Alphadi initiated the International
Festival of African Fashion (FIMA) in 1998, which has emerged in
recent years to be one of the major cultural events on the
continent. Through his retail stores, hospitality businesses,
production factories, and tourism promotion, Mr. Alphadi is an
enormous generator of jobs and goodwill. He is of the ethnic Arab
minority.
c. Mr. Mamane Abou is the owner of one of the most reliable
independent newspapers in Niger, "Le Republicain," as well as a
large printing company "Nouvelle Imprimerie du Niger." He has been
instrumental in fighting for the repeal of Niger's restrictive
criminal libel statutes, which impede the freedom of the press. In
addition, Mr. Abou is the owner of the two biggest hotels in
sub-region (Maradi Guest House and Hotel Tarka in Tahoua). Mr. Abou
is of the ethnic Tuareg minority, from the under-represented north
of Niger.
d. Mr. Abdoulkarim Seydou Hassane runs a promising leather-working
business. After receiving his master's degree in applied
electronics in China, he created a leather goods import and export
business, building on Niger's burgeoning reputation as a provider of
quality leatherwork.
e. Mr. Sadou Fouddi is an established business professional whose
construction company, while small with around ten full-time
employees, hires many more contractual workers. His company
specializes on educational facilities, partnering with the
government and NGOs like World Vision.
f. Mr. Iddi Ango Ibrahim is the founder of CAREN, Niger's second
largest insurance company. He is also a significant shareholder in
several local companies, including BIA-Niger (banking sector), ZAIN
(cellular telecommunications), and Les Moulins du Sahel (grain
processing).
g. Mr Ibrahim Bawa Souley has been active in the private sector for
years. His original printing business, Imprimarie IBS, is now
managed by his sons. He was a parliamentarian during the regime of
President Bare and is still the president of a small political
party, but his main focus now is a large new fruit plantation that
he is developing near Gaya, in the southernmost tip of Niger. He
currently markets fresh fruit and is constructing a processing plant
to produce fruit juice.
h. Mr. Ali Djimba is a Director of CAT Niger, a large shipping
business with over 100 employees. Mr. Djimba represents the Port of
Cotonou in Niger, and his firm handles container shipments in and
out of Niger as well as exports of uranium ore mined by AREVA.
i. Mme Maidah Zeinabou was trained as an agronomist. After working
for a few years at Braniger, the local Coca-Cola bottling company,
she started a milk processing business called Nigerlait, which
produces a range of dairy products in a modern processing plant.
j. Mr. Amadou Boubacar Wankoye is in business with his brother
Boureima Wankoye. Both are Directors of "Achat Service
International" (ASI), a company that imports industrial equipment
and chemicals from Europe, the United States, and Japan, as well as
investors in other local companies, but they are best known for
their entrepreneurial activities in the agricultural sector,
including growing and exporting onions, which provide over 15
percent of Niger's export earnings. They were instrumental in
introducing gum Arabic plantations in the degraded desert areas of
Niger. ASI's large plantation of gum Arabic has provided a source
of income for over 6,000 rural families.
3. Embassy Niamey appreciates Department's consideration of these
nominees and would be pleased to provide additional information if
needed.
ALLEN