- South Florida church hosts conference kicking off international business partnerships -

(BLACK PR WIRE) – FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – One hundred local leaders, business executives and South Floridians joined international partners at the Winds of Change Economic Leadership Conference. The event was organized by People Helping Each Other (PHEO) and African Business Development Group, Inc., in collaboration with The Most Rev. Thabo Makgoba, Anglican archbishop of Cape Town and metropolitan of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. Held on Saturday, February 18, 2012, at the Worldwide Christian Center in Pompano Beach, the conference featured panel discussions with representatives from Royal Bafokeng Holdings (RBH), Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the World Bank. Attendees received the first official U.S. introduction to the Archbishop’s Economic Development Initiative for Indigenous Africans, the Diaspora and Friends, set to kick off Juneteenth (June 19), 2012.

“The conference was a monumental success,” said Julius V. Jackson, Sr., president of PHEO. “Our African partners brought significant resources to the table, shared investment and development insight and are fully behind the archbishop’s initiative. Today, we provided tools to take our local businesses global.”

Participants engaged in dialogue with key panelists discussing how Indigenous Africans and the Diaspora can collaborate on economic opportunities both in the U.S. and Africa. Additionally, the Archbishop’s initiative provides the Diaspora direct investment in natural resource opportunities within Africa, including platinum, chrome and timber. RBH owns more than 247,105 acres of land, which hosts the world-renowned Bushveld Complex, the richest known reserve of platinum group metal and chrome in the world. 

The conference also included a panel discussion outlining case studies that showed this business model in action. Corporate executives, including Barbara Rios of Rio’s Concrete and Equipment and Rhodes Robinson of Environmental Services, Inc., provided candid examples on what attracted them to expand into Africa through the Archbishop’s initiative. Today, Rios’ company owns 20 concrete mixer trucks and exports related equipment to South America, the Caribbean and other parts of the world.

Archbishop Makoba participated in the day’s events via video presentation from of Cape Town, South Africa. He also provided details on the forthcoming Juneteenth launch when he plans to visit the U.S.

For details and more information about the Winds of Change Economic Conference, please contact Carolyn Kennedy at (754) 234-7943.

**MEDIA NOTE: For media inquiries and/or interviews with any of the conference’s key organizers or participants, contact Bernadette Morris, Sonshine Communications, at (305) 948-8063, ext. 201**