U.S. President Barack Obama’s comments were the high point of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Tuesday in Washington, D.C., but other speakers also had a chance to shine.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg addressed the press at the summit. His foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, co-hosted summit-related events. He touched on the possibility of more summits and why doing business in Africa is important for his business.

Bloomberg is the 11th-richest person in the U.S. and the 16th-wealthiest in the world, according to Forbes.com. He is the founder and 88-percent owner of Bloomberg L.P., a global media and financial data company.

“We are not Johnny-come-lately to Africa,” Bloomberg said. “We’ve been doing business in Africa for 20 years now. Bloomberg Philanthropies has been to 40 different countries around Africa. We have something like 150 employees who work in Africa and we see nothing but good opportunities to come.

“American companies just have to understand that the world today is very different,” he said.

“Bloomberg will continue to do our philanthropic tour with each individual country — in some cases with multi-level organization, sometimes though United Nations, sometimes directly. We think that the potential for Bloomberg to have real businesses throughout all of Africa is great. We want to be there. There are always going to be problems — there are problems doing business in America.”

Bloomberg talked about the need for Africa to develop a business class.

“Africa desperately wants to build a business class, because that’s where the jobs are going to come,” he said. “That’s where people are going to be able to be self sufficient. There’s an understanding that it’s needed and American companies through meetings like this will get to know it. There are also companies that have been doing business for years….G.E., IMB, they’ve been around.”

The good news, Bloomberg said, is that Africa has woken up. “We’ve talked to the presidents and prime ministers. They’re much more sophisticated than they were 20 years ago. They understand the needs and they’re much more commercial.”

A longtime supporter of gay rights, Bloomberg was asked whether he could do something to change the laws that criminalize homosexual relations in dozens of African countries. He said no, “it’s not our job” to change other countries’ laws, NPR reported.

Obama highlighted $14 billion in new investments in Africa by U.S. companies involved in technology, construction and finance, according to NPR.

“The U.S. is determined to be a partner in Africa’s success,” Obama said. “I want Africans buying more American products. I want Americans buying more African products.”

U.S. exports to Africa hit a record $50.2 billion in 2013, up 40 percent since 2009, according to The White House. These exports provided 250,000 U.S. jobs, according to the administration.

New business deals highlighted at the summit include $200 million in investments in hotels by Marriott International; a $66 million commitment from IBM to provide tech services for Ghana’s Fidelity Bank; a $2 billion investment from G.E. for a variety of projects; and a $5 billion investment from Coca-Cola for production equipment.

Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson said his company plans to have 150 hotels operating in 16 African countries by 2020.

Asked whether the current ebola outbreak might hurt travel to Africa, he said its impact would be limited geographically, and the problem would likely be resolved before the hotels open.

Former President Bill Clinton, who moderated an opening panel, charmed the African leaders, telling them their nations “are a very important part of our future,” NPR reports.

Clinton said Africa’s young people — an estimated 200 million between the ages of 15 and 24 — represent a “massive opportunity for American business.”

He said he’s hopeful African nations will “do the right things to create the right rules, create transparency, some of those infrastructure investments so that the whole thing works.”

Secretary of State John Kerry talked about how Africa is setting an example by generating energy in environmentally friendly ways. “Africa could be a clean-energy beacon for the world,” he said, according to NPR.