Africa: US Vice President Kamala Harris announces the US-Africa Leaders Summit will be held in Washington in December 2022

“Our administration’s goal,” she said, “is to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development across the continent, increase capital flows, and encourage the dynamic spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation that is prevalent across Africa”.

Dana Banks, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, emphasized the importance of engaging a wide range of stakeholders from Africa and the United States. The upcoming President’s Summit is a testament to the breadth and depth of American partnerships with African governments, institutions and citizens: partnerships based on dialogue that build on the ingenuity and creativity of our peoples. .

The Vice President’s remarks mark four days of discussions for a U.S. delegation organized by Prosper Africa and made up of senior leaders from ten U.S. government agencies and a group of U.S. investors who manage assets representing more than a trillion dollars.

Alice Albright, CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), led the delegation and reaffirmed the government-wide commitment of the Biden-Harris administration to increasing bilateral trade and mobilizing investments in fast growing markets in Africa. She introduced MCC’s new $460 million Compact for Employability and Land in Morocco, part of the agency’s $1.1 billion commitment to Morocco.

Enoh T. Ebong, Director of the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), announced new commitments to support the development of resilient health care systems and improve access to health care. quality healthcare in Nigeria and across the continent, expand internet access to bridge the digital divide in Southern Africa, and support South Africa’s decarbonization efforts through the Just Energy Transition Partnership .

Director Ebong announced USTDA funding for a feasibility study to develop Morocco’s first smart grid that will transform the electricity distribution infrastructure in Marrakech. She also co-hosted a roundtable with the Africa Investment Forum to showcase women-led businesses and projects that are facilitating the deployment of American solutions in African infrastructure under Prosper Africa.

Travis Adkins, Chief Executive Officer of the United States African Development Foundation (USADF), highlighted the central role of African small and medium enterprises to the continent’s economic growth and recovery. He reaffirmed USADF’s core commitments to provide direct investment and technical assistance to African-owned and African-led businesses and social entrepreneurs.

He also spoke with African government officials about the potential for partnerships with a focus on USADF priority programming areas of food security, youth employment, women’s economic empowerment and renewable energies.

Throughout the event, a group of powerful U.S. investors forged new relationships with African leaders from the public and private sectors and participated in a series of presentations focusing on resilient infrastructure investment opportunities. Joseph Boateng, Chief Investment Officer of Casey Family Programs, commented that “Prosper Africa works with institutional investors to help them overcome their misperceptions of the risks of investing in Africa by providing investment opportunities and introducing them to the tools available to reduce their real risks…

These delegations stress that capital can have transformative effects when used in the right conditions and in the service of coherent interests. Teaming up with our counterparts in Africa can allow us to direct capital where it is needed while generating strong returns. »