Sixteen private firms donated $56,800 to send District leaders and support staff on a recent 11-day trade mission to Africa, a trip in which no government funds were expended but that Mayor Anthony Williams said Wednesday will have tangible results.

The mission to Ghana and Senegal, which ended Monday, produced two sister-city agreements — with Dakar, Senegal, and Accra, Ghana — and opened up discussions on tourism, culture, government practices, trade and investment, education, information technology, and bridging the digital divide, Williams said during his weekly press briefing.