Press Release From: CHAMPRO Sports Equipment

US Treasury Secretary, U2's Bono Visit CHAMPRO Sports Equipment Factory In Ethiopia

June 12, 2002

Secretary of the Treasury, Paul O'Neill, and Bono, from U2, visited the CHAMPRO Sports Equipment uniform factory in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on May 30th, on their recent fact-finding tour of Africa. Secretary O'Neill and Bono were traveled to Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, and Ethiopia in order to study issues affecting Africa including AIDS, foreign aid versus foreign investment and increased trade. Wilson Hunt, President of CHAMPRO (and also currently Chairman of EATIC), and Dr. Zewde Worku, President of Garment Express, CHAMPRO'S joint venture partner, were on hand to greet the pair and show them the factory operation.

Left to Right: Dr. Zewde Worku, President of Garment Express, US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, and Bono, singer for Irish rock band U2 and an ardent African issues activist.

Both Secretary O'Neill and Bono were complimentary of the factory operation and indicated that it could provide a model for investment, trade and development in Africa. Bono, who had been critical of some U.S. operations in Africa, stated that factory conditions were good and that the workers had a clean, well-lit, airy work environment. Unlike previous stops, Bono noted that workers were being paid a reasonable wage.

CHAMPRO Sports Equipment established a joint venture garment factory in Ethiopia in 2000 along with joint venture partners, Dr. Zewde and Zinash Worku. The factory currently employs 230 persons with plans to expand in 2003 to over 500 employees. CHAMPRO currently produces baseball, basketball, football and soccer jerseys and pants in the Addis Ababa factory. Ethiopia benefits from the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1999 and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act provides trade preferences to certain sub-Saharan African countries enabling them to export to the United States duty and quota free.

About EATIC
The Ethio-American Trade & Investment Council (EATIC - www.eatic.org) is a non-profit, non-partisan, tax exempt membership organization of corporations and individuals dedicated to strengthening and facilitating trade and investment between Ethiopia and the United States of America. The Council believes that it can best accomplish this goal through education, focusing on broadening the respective knowledge of various social customs, cultural traditions and economic climate of both countries.

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