On January 28, 2018 the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) was launched on the margins of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) conducted a survey and determined that if only 12 key African countries opened their markets and increased connectivity an extra 155,00 jobs and US$1.3 billion in annual GDP would be created in those countries. So far 23 countries have pledged to remove non-physical barriers to air routes and ultimately create a single aviation area across the continent.

SAATM is a tangible example of economic integration in Africa and the business interest to the private sector is significant. Increased intra-connectivity, access to new markets, increased trade facilitation, and growth in tourism are a few of the benefits to both U.S and African businesses operating on the continent.

Join CCA for a briefing by IATA senior officials on what the SAATM entails, the economic benefits for companies doing business across the continent and how to support the process going forward. This is an opportunity for the U.S. and Africa private sector to engage and inform the SAATM implementation process, which is part of the African Union's broader economic integration agenda.