Your browser doesn’t support HTML5
USAID Advances Prosper Africa
Speaking on October 21 at the African Growth and Opportunity Act Ministerial, Samantha Power, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, announced the launch of USAID’s new continent-wide Africa Trade and Investment program. This program is USAID’s flagship effort under the whole-of-government Prosper Africa initiative and will expand and accelerate two-way trade and investment between African nations and the United States, as well as intra-regional trade within Africa.
Power highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration’s recognition that “90 percent of global financial flows to emerging economies come from private, not public, investment,” and that “It is businesses and investors, both local and global, that will help Africans realize the kind of sustainable, independent future that they have long sought.”
This is why USAID is proud to be among the 17 U.S. Government agencies that make up the Prosper Africa initiative. Since launching Prosper Africa in 2019, the U.S. Government has helped “businesses and investors close more than 800 deals across 45 African countries, creating an estimated $50 billion in exports and investments and generating thousands of jobs at home and abroad.”
The launch of the USAID Africa Trade and Investment Program reflects the U.S. Government’s commitment to strengthening private sector ties between African nations and the United States, spurring investment at a scale that could never be matched by foreign aid alone, and partnering with people across the African continent to realize a shared vision for a better future.
“The [USAID] Africa Trade and Investment program will be our flagship private sector effort over the next several years, establishing new USAID-supported satellite offices to encourage investments in North and sub-Saharan Africa,” said Administrator Power.
“This program is going to prioritize opportunities that promote the economic empowerment of women and youth, opportunities that mitigate the impacts of climate change, or opportunities that help countries build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“We are deepening our commitment today because we know that increased trade and investment between your nations and our nation is win-win,” she said. “The Biden-Harris] Administration believes deeply in Africa, and we believe deeply in the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit and impact of the African people.”