FACT SHEET: Celebrating U.S.-Africa Partnership Two Years After the 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit

In the two years since the December 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the Biden-Harris Administration significantly expanded engagement and partnership with African nations, driven by the conviction that the future of Africa and the United States depends on what we can achieve together. At the Summit, the United States pledged to invest $55 billion in Africa over three years. We have surpassed that goal - the Administration has committed and spent over $65 billion in Africa since the Summit. These investments have enabled the Administration, together with African partners, to accelerate development progress, advance trans-continental infrastructure, expand trade and economic opportunities, and support African-led efforts on conservation, climate adaptation, and a just energy transition. But the achievements go beyond numbers, underpinned by our belief that solving global challenges requires African leadership and African partnership. The United States championed-and ultimately helped secure-the African Union’s permanent membership in the G20 and announced our support for creating two permanent United Nations (UN) Security Council seats for African states. Since the Summit, we have laid out a vision alongside Kenya to help developing countries facing mounting debt burdens. Our partnerships enhanced food security and helped build more sustainable and resilient food systems, improved governance and security, and advanced shared public health goals. We catalyzed landmark diaspora-driven engagement, fostered an inclusive and resilient African digital ecosystem, and made strides to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. High-Level Engagements Throughout the Biden-Harris administration, President Biden has prioritized high-level engagement with African countries and partners. Following the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in 2022, President Biden directed an unprecedented pace of senior-level U.S. Government visits to the continent. Twenty Cabinet Members and leaders of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies have visited the region since the Summit, with visits centered on deepening partnerships with African countries, institutions, and people. In March and April 2023, Vice President Harris visited Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia, where she announced more than $8 billion in public and private sector investment commitments towards climate and food security, women’s empowerment, and digital inclusion across Africa. In May 2024, President Biden then hosted President Ruto of Kenya for a State Visit and Dinner, the first State Visit of an African head of state since 2008. During that visit, which highlighted 60 years of official U.S.-Kenyan partnership, President Biden announced a slew of deliverables to improve economic opportunities for both our peoples, strengthen democratic resilience and safeguard human rights, and bolster our work together on a range of pressing issues, including climate and health. In December 2024, President Biden traveled to the continent, becoming the first-ever U.S. president to visit Angola and the first sitting President to visit sub-Saharan Africa since 2015. During the visit, President Biden spoke about the past horrors of slavery and its legacy, while welcoming a bright future of deepening collaboration between the United States and the continent. He announced more than $1 billion in additional humanitarian funding and co-hosted a Summit on the Lobito Trans-Africa Corridor, underscoring the importance of private sector investments, inclusive economic growth, and sustainable development. One year earlier, President Biden had hosted President Lourenço of Angola for an Oval Office meeting. President Biden’s historic trip to Angola topped off significant engagement with the continent throughout the entire Biden-Harris administration. Trade and Investment The Administration harnessed the dynamism of people from across the African continent and throughout the United States to expand prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic. In the past two years, the United States has supported and helped close 1,385 new deals for a total estimated value of $62.6 billion in new two-way trade and investment between the United States and African countries. This represents a more than five-fold increase in the value of closed deals over the two years preceding the Summit. Illustrative highlights of these trade and investment initiatives include: The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has investments of over $13 billion in more than 300 projects across 36 countries in Africa. Since the Summit, DFC has committed over $5.3 billion to new projects in Africa in key sectors such as energy, healthcare, infrastructure, mineral resources, and support for small businesses. Since the Summit, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has funded 24 project preparation activities to advance the implementation of over $7 billion in digital connectivity, clean energy, and healthcare infrastructure projects on the continent. In 2024, USTDA arranged 10 reverse trade missions and workshops focused on regulatory convergence for healthcare products, transportation, green hydrogen development, cybersecurity, methane abatement, and sustainable energy, connecting African public and private sector representatives with the latest U.S. technologies, services, and financing solutions. Since 2022, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) has strengthened partnerships across Africa, approving approximately $4 billion in authorizations for sub-Saharan Africa. This includes transactions across a wide variety of sectors including two of the largest renewable energy projects in EXIM’s history, aircrafts, civil works infrastructure, and radio equipment. In fiscal year (FY) 2023, the EXIM Board of Directors approved a $281 million transaction to support the export of several Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft to Ethiopian Airlines Group. This transaction supported 1,600 U.S. jobs across Indiana, North Carolina, and Washington. In FY 2024, the EXIM Board of Directors approved an additional transaction of more than $456 million for Ethiopian Airlines for the purchase of five Boeing aircraft, supporting an estimated 2,200 new U.S. jobs in North Carolina, Ohio, and Washington. Since 2022, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has invested almost $2.4 billion through agreements with African partner countries who have demonstrated their commitment to good governance, democratic values, and investing in their people. Funding is expanding energy markets, furthering private sector energy generation, enhancing farmers’ supply chain integration, and improving education access to increase long-term employment opportunities. Prosper Africa funded and supported several initiatives to boost two-way trade and investment for key markets in Kenya, South Africa, and Morocco, to include the “Why Kenya, Why Africa” Roadshow in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago, the launch of Atlanta Phambili with South African business and government leaders in Atlanta, and the U.S.-Morocco Venture Capital Forum. Prosper Africa also provided technical assistance to Togo-based Caisse Régionale de Refinancement Hypothécaire, supporting a $275 million housing deal with Bank of America. At the Summit, Prosper Africa announced the Catalytic Investment Facility, which provides first-loss and operational funding support to 10 African asset managers to mobilize $600 million from private investors, to deploy into African tech startups. To date, $93 million has been raised by the 10 African asset managers, and $44 million has been deployed into 61 startups throughout the continent. In September 2024, Prosper Africa announced a catalytic pooled fund to drive social investment. In partnership with the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, and in support of the Africa Venture Philanthropy Alliance, the fund aims to pool $200 million of catalytic capital over the next five years from African and global philanthropies and government donors. This capital is expected to leverage up to $2 billion in private capital. Prosper Africa provided a $1.275 million grant to the Liquidity and Sustainability Facility (LSF) to cover operational costs of LSF’s work enhancing trading liquidity for African countries and lowering the cost of financing. LSF builds free and transparent capital markets in Africa and provides investors with an investible benchmark for evaluating the performance of African sovereign debt instruments such as the IBoxx LSF USD African Sovereign index, in conjunction with Standard & Poor’s. The Small Business Administration (SBA) provided 34 small businesses with export financing that supported approximately $185.7 million in export sales involving the African continent from December 2023 to October 2024. Building on the SBA Administrator’s visit to Cote d’Ivoire and Togo in 2023, SBA also undertook new activities in 2024 to connect members of the African diaspora in the United States with businesses in both continents. In November 2023 and July 2024, President Biden reiterated his strong support for the reauthorization and modernization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to deepen trade relations between the U.S. and Africa, strengthen regional integration, and realize Africa’s immense economic potential. In 2023, AGOA imports totaled $9.7 billion and supported tens of thousands of jobs in the United States and Africa. InfrastructurePresident Biden’s flagship G7+ initiative, the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI), advances strategic, values-driven, and high-standard infrastructure, investment, and sustainable development in low- and middle-income countries-with Africa as a key continent of focus. At the G7 Summit in June, leaders celebrated progress toward PGI’s ambitious goal of mobilizing $600 billion by 2027 in global infrastructure investments that will make a difference in people’s lives around the world, strengthen and diversify our supply chains, and advance shared national security interests. During his historic trip to Angola December 2-4, President Biden co-hosted a Summit on the Lobito Trans-Africa Corridor, bringing together leaders from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia, as well as the Africa Finance Corporation. Leaders affirmed their commitment to investing in infrastructure that will one day connect the Atlantic and Indian Oceans to expand economic growth and sustainable development across the region. More information on PGI/Lobito Trans-Africa Corridor can be found here.Conservation, Climate Adaptation, and a Just Energy TransitionMany of the countries that are most vulnerable to climate change are in Africa. The Biden-Harris Administration has marshalled unprecedented resources to bolster climate resilience and protect development progress. During her 2023 trip to the African continent, Vice President Harris worked with African partners to galvanize more than $7 billion in public and private sector climate adaptation, resilience, and mitigation commitments. Some of the U.S. initiatives to support African-led efforts on climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a just energy transition include: Since the Summit, DFC has committed over $1.8 billion to new climate focused projects in Africa and also committed over $520 million across 12 new projects in Africa focused on expanding access to power. Notably, DFC provided $500 million in political risk insurance to support marine conversation in Gabon through the Gabon Blue Bonds project, the first DFC-supported debt conversion for impact project in Africa. In Sierra Leone, DFC provided $412 million in financing and political risk insurance to support the Nant Energy project, a 105-megawatt thermal power plant that is Sierra Leone’s first gas-to-power plant and will double the country’s energy capacity and address a critical need for the Sierra Leonean people’s access to reliable energy infrastructure. In Mozambique, DFC committed $179 million in debt and political risk insurance to support the development of Central Eléctrica da Namaacha’s 120 megawatt wind power project, the country’s first utility-scale wind power project. In November 2023, Prosper Africa, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the State Department provided $10 million to seed a $100 million balance sheet under the Green Guarantee Company (GGC), the first-ever privately run guarantee company devoted to catalyzing green bonds and loans focusing on Africa. GGC is expected to unlock an estimated $1 billion in new private capital for climate finance. In September 2024, Prosper Africa announced a $5 million catalytic capital award to ImpactA Global, aimed at mobilizing $300 million in private investment for sustainable infrastructure in emerging markets. The award serves as first-loss capital designed to reduce investment risk and attract new institutional investors who might otherwise be hesitant to engage in Africa-focused investments. Bolstering Power Africa, USTDA has invested $5 million to support a just energy transition across several African countries. These investments are supporting solar energy generation in Zambia, wind energy generation in Malawi, strengthening the power grid in Cote d’Ivoire, promoting clean energy in South Africa, and supporting climate innovation through reverse trade missions. At the Summit, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced its intent to develop a case study in partnership with the Ghanaian Ministry of Energy on integrating nuclear and renewable energy systems. Under the Clean Energy Ministerial, DOE is leading a $300,000 initiative to evaluate the potential roles for nuclear and renewable energy to support Ghanaian energy needs for both electric and non-electric applications. DOE and Ghana also launched Africa’s first regional Clean Energy Training Center in Accra, Ghana, providing courses on large and small modular reactors, financing, contract structures, risk management, and legal issues. DOE is working with Mozambique on methane mitigation from the gas sector and clean hydrogen development, with Kenya on a $250,000 project to examine opportunities for direct air capture combined with geothermal energy, with Nigeria on a $250,000 study supporting their regulatory framework for carbon management, and with Morocco on solar energy. DOE and the Moroccan Research Institute in Solar Energy and New Energies hosted a Solar Decathlon Design Challenge for collegiate teams from across Africa and around the world to design buildings powered by renewable energy. Under its Climate Change and Health Initiative, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) established Exploratory Research Centers that bring together scientists to work with affected communities to build resilience and adapt to climate driven stressors. Three of the centers have focus areas in Kenya, Madagascar, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. These centers are conducting research on early warning models for vector borne diseases, the effects of extreme weather events on mental health and interpersonal violence, and pilot solutions for climate risks to human health. At the Summit, the Department of State announced the Accelerating Women’s Empowerment in Energy (AWEE) project to help secure women’s economic futures through green jobs. Since then, the State Department launched AWEE with an initial investment of $1 million. The project has funded 11 small grants to local organizations in South Africa and Kenya to address barriers to the entry, promotion, and retention of women in each country’s clean energy sector. Promoting Food Security and Resilient Food SystemsAt the Summit, President Biden launched the U.S.-African Union (AU) Strategic Partnership to accelerate progress in tackling food insecurity, build stronger and more diversified food systems and supply chains, scale Africa’s agricultural production capacity, and expand African countries’ access to agricultural markets. Since the launch of the partnership, we have aligned our food security assistance and programming and leveraged our convening power and partnerships, including through PGI, to build sustainable food systems, expand investments in agricultural infrastructure, and tackle trade policy reforms. Since FY 2022, the United States provided nearly $20 billion in life-saving humanitarian assistance and early recovery, risk reduction, and resilience programming in Africa. Humanitarian assistance addresses acute food insecurity caused by conflicts, including Russia’s war in Ukraine and natural disasters, including climate shocks impacting millions of people across the African continent. Since 2023, MCC has committed over $1.6 billion toward food security initiatives through newly signed or launched programs. These projects are boosting farm productivity and increasing rural incomes by investing in better irrigation methods, increasing production of high-value crops, and improving road conditions. During his historic trip to Angola, President Biden announced additional humanitarian funding, including more than $200 million to purchase, ship, and distribute surplus agricultural commodities from American farmers to provide life-saving food assistance for refugees and other food-insecure populations in Africa. Since December 2022, DFC has provided over $180 million to 15 food security focused projects in Africa. These include a $20 million DFC loan to Victory Farms in Kenya to support expansion of sustainable tilapia production on Lake Victoria; a $75 million loan to Indorama Eleme Fertilizer & Chemicals Limited to finance the development, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of a urea-ammonia fertilizer facility in Port Harcourt, Nigeria; and project development technical assistance and loans to Ifria, a developer of cold chain warehouses in Morocco and Senegal. As part of the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future initiative, the global Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) program helps build resilient food systems in partner countries using diverse, nutritious, and climate resilient crops grown in healthy, fertile soils. Since 2023, the United States has donated $150 million and mobilized another $60 million from international partners for VACS programming. Implementing partner organizations include the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. USAID and the AU launched the “Feed the Future Accelerator” in September 2024 with a new commitment, working with Congress, of more than $80 million to deepen food security partnerships in Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia. U.S. investments will harness the region’s combination of fertile land, diverse farming systems, and highly-motivated governments to support a regional breadbasket. These funds complement a diverse Feed the Future portfolio including over $497 million of ongoing U.S. investments in these three countries, plus more than $150 million in private sector investments. As part of the larger U.S. Government response to the global food crisis through Feed the Future, USAID and the African Development Bank (AfDB) completed an agreement in January 2024 to fund a $9.5 million project-Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation-to help Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zambia increase food production and introduce climate-smart technologies. Building on the U.S.-AU Strategic Partnership on Food Security, the United States supported the AU process to refresh the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP) 10-year strategic plan focused on food security and increased agricultural trade. USAID provided analytical work that fed into CAADP Technical Working Groups and submitted an independent memorandum to the AU Commission with recommendations on how to achieve agricultural transformation, wealth creation, food security and nutrition, and economic growth. Promoting Peace, Security, and Democratic GovernanceThe United States supported peace as the largest single humanitarian donor for refugee and migration-related needs in Sub-Saharan Africa, working with international organization and NGO partners to support over eight million refugees and asylum seekers and over 30 million internally displaced persons. President Biden also launched the 21st Century Partnership for African Security (21PAS), to expand support to African partners with a focus on promoting effective, responsible, and accountable defense institutions able to meet the emerging threats of our time. At the Summit, the United States reaffirmed its commitment to support complex political transitions in Africa through launching the African Democratic and Political Transitions (ADAPT) initiative. In FY 2024, the United States, through the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, provided more than $1.37 billion in Africa to support urgent and lifesaving needs for refugees, asylum seekers, conflict victims, stateless persons, and vulnerable migrants, including those affected by climate change. Since December 2022, the United States has resettled over 56,000 refugees from Sub-Saharan Africa, welcoming them as they build new lives in communities across the United States. The majority of refugees resettled were from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, the Republic of South Sudan, Somalia, and Sudan. The United States, Gabon, Ghana, and Mozambique worked together to successfully authorize UN Security Council Resolution 2719, which outlines a process for the AU to receive UN funding for Peace Support Operations (PSOs). UN Security Council Resolution 2719 is a testament to the U.S. and AU commitment to addressing conflict in the region through African-led solutions. The United States is supportive of the UN and the AU utilizing the Resolution to support PSOs on the continent while working together to ensure that human rights, transparency, and accountability mechanisms are successful. Through 21PAS, the Department of Defense is focusing on improving the capacity of African partners to plan, resource, and sustain their defense and security forces. 21PAS values partnerships rooted in transparency, accountability, and respect for human rights, recognizing that these values are foundational to lasting security. Using these criteria, the Department of Defense identified a broad array of security cooperation programming totaling $73 million for Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, and countries along the Gulf of Guinea and Western Indian Ocean. The United States continues to bolster democratic governance through the ADAPT initiative. For example, in Gabon, U.S. technical assistance to government entities, civic groups, media outlets, and women- and youth-focused organizations supports inclusive constitutional and electoral legal reforms and free, fair, and peaceful transitional elections. Since 2022, USAID, through the Elections and Political Processes Fund, has provided $48.9 million for critical election support in 28 countries in Africa for unanticipated needs such as snap elections or other unforeseen political developments. USAID provided an additional $17.4 million through the Defending Democratic Elections Fund to 10 countries to tackle deeply rooted electoral integrity issues, especially during inter-election periods. Through the Women’s Political Participation and Leadership fund, USAID provided $8.36 million in FY 2022 and 2023 to four countries to build and sustain the pipeline of women leaders and facilitate their safe and meaningful participation in political, peacebuilding, and transition processes. Since 2022, the U.S. Government has dedicated over $181 million through the Prevention and Stabilization Fund to enhance partnerships with Mozambique, Libya, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, and Togo. Efforts focus on 10-year objectives to include promoting reconciliation and unification; accelerating inclusive and sustainable economic development; improving responsive governance and security institutions; promoting respect for human rights; strengthening justice systems; building capacity and resilience in historically marginalized, at-risk, and conflict-affected areas; and advancing meaningful participation of women and youth. Deepening Health CooperationThe United States works in partnership with African nations and regional and global partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and its Africa Regional Office (AFRO), the AU, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and the private sector, to save lives and build more resilient health systems that are better able to prevent and respond to current and future health threats. The Administration has built on the United States’ longstanding leadership in the fight to end HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria as public health threats, including by investing more than $15.55 billion through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (Global Fund), and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. These investments have reduced the burden of HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, and vaccine-preventable diseases and have strengthened health systems in more than 30 countries on the African continent. Over the past two years, the United States provided more than $3 billion in global health funding to support health workers, including funding through PEPFAR to support more than 346,000 health professionals to deliver HIV and tuberculosis services in the past year. PEPFAR is also providing $8 million to support nurses, who are the backbone of patient care, in Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia. In FY 2024, USAID provided $10 million to support the Global Health Worker Initiative to build on the Primary Impact Initiative in countries including Ghana. PEPFAR has been central to reversing the HIV/AIDS pandemic’s trajectory-in Sub-Saharan Africa, there were 56 percent fewer new HIV infections in 2023 than in 2010. Nine African countries are nearing or achieving the UNAIDS 2025 global goal that 95 percent of people living with HIV will know their status and benefit from treatment that keeps them healthy and helps prevent further spread, with several more countries on track to reach these goals by the end of 2025. Since FY 2021, PMI has invested more than $100 million to support 100,000 community health workers across its partner countries to rapidly detect and treat malaria in their communities. These investments in integrated platforms also enable treatment of other common childhood illnesses such as diarrhea and pneumonia, improve the quality and reach of primary health care, and strengthen countries’ ability to prevent, detect, and respond to disease outbreaks. PMI has supported African manufacturing to promote more resilient and sustainable commodity supply chains. In FY 2023, PMI sourced approximately 10% of its commodity procurements from Africa, more than double what was procured from the continent in FY 2021. From FY 2019 to FY 2023, PMI transitioned from primary reliance on air freight to using sea and land freight to transport malaria commodities, reducing transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions by 85% and generating $66 million in cost savings, which PMI used to expand other malaria-related programs. In April 2024, the Administration launched the U.S. Global Health Security Strategy to strengthen pandemic preparedness and response and welcomed six new Global Health Security Partners in Africa. The United States continues working in partnership with African nations to support outbreak responses, including on Marburg, mpox, Ebola, and cholera. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of NIH, has been partnering with research agencies and institutions in Africa for decades. Longstanding research programs have enabled collaboration on research responses to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. From 2022 to 2023, the U.S. Government provided more than $22 million to support the Government of Uganda’s Ebola response and an additional $7 million to help neighboring countries prepare for potential outbreaks. In 2023, the United States worked with the Governments of Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea and other international partners to address simultaneous but unrelated Marburg virus disease outbreaks, providing over $5.8 million to support key response and prevention efforts. In response to the Marburg virus disease outbreak in Rwanda starting in September 2024, the United States has provided technical support, vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics, and personal protective equipment and plans to allocate over $11 million regionally to address urgent health needs. The United States partners with biological laboratories in the public, private, and academic sectors in 20 African countries to provide trainings and assist partner institutions with performing laboratory risk assessments. These partnerships improve biosafety, biosecurity, and cybersecurity. The United States also provides training to technical staff and biomedical engineers responsible for upkeep of laboratory equipment for high containment laboratories. DFC continues to catalyze investments to strengthen regional manufacturing capacity in Africa, including by providing input into the design of Gavi’s African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator to ensure long-term sustainability of African vaccine manufacturers. Following DFC’s loan of €100 million to Aspen Pharmacare in 2021, in 2024 DFC committed a direct loan of up to €110 million to expand Aspen’s capacity to manufacture pediatric vaccines, insulin, and other essential medicines in South Africa. DFC collaborated with the International Finance Corporation, the German Development Finance Institution, and Proparco to co-finance expansion of Aspen. DFC also invests in health services, and technology to improve access to affordable, high-quality health care and products. For example, in 2023 DFC committed a $10 million loan to Hewatele, a medical oxygen manufacturer in Kenya to expand production and distribution of medical oxygen. DFC also provided a $10 million loan guaranty to KCB Bank in Kenya to increase financing available to small and medium enterprises in the health sector. In December 2022, USTDA launched the Coalition for Healthcare Infrastructure in Africa, a collaboration between USTDA and U.S. industry to help meet the healthcare needs of African partners and to increase access to quality healthcare products and services for millions of individuals across the continent. From November 2023 to July 2024, USTDA hosted three healthcare workshops that convened U.S. and African public and private sector representatives with the aim of strengthening regulatory systems and facilitating broader market access for healthcare products across the continent. Since 2022, the United States has donated over $50 million to projects in support of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Rays of Hope initiative, which provides assistance in nuclear and radiation medicine to advance cancer diagnosis and treatment in low- and middle-income countries. In 2024, the United States provided an additional $6 million to Rays of Hope projects in Benin, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Malawi, Niger, and Senegal. At the Summit, First Lady Jill Biden highlighted the U.S. Government’s unwavering commitment to improving cancer outcomes in countries in Africa. In July 2024, the Biden Cancer Moonshot hosted the White House Africa Cancer Care Forum, which convened health leaders from Benin, DRC, Lesotho, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Zambia committed to expanding national capacity for cancer diagnosis and treatment. During the forum, the United States announced over $100 million in commitments to reduce the burden of cancer, bringing the collective total to over $400 million. The U.S.-South Africa Cancer Care and Research Alliance (U.S.-SACCRA) was established in December 2023 to deliver improved health outcomes in Africa, including by reducing the burden of cancer. U.S.-SACCRA partners with several South African academic and research institutions; government departments, and leading U.S. cancer institutes to design, share, and fast-track scientific exchanges and capacity development for cancer care and research in both countries. Elevating African Diaspora EngagementSince the Summit, the Administration has aimed to harness the dynamism of the African Diaspora to enrich lives on both sides of the Atlantic. The Administration has strengthened educational, cultural, social, political, and economic ties among African communities, the global African Diaspora, and the United States. As Vice President Harris said during her 2023 trip to the African continent, “The fates of America and the continent of Africa are interconnected and interdependent.” In December 2022, President Biden established the President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement in the United States (PAC-ADE) to provide advice on strengthening connections between the U.S. Government and the African Diaspora in the United States. The Council members held their inaugural meeting in October 2023 with Vice President Harris and Secretary Blinken presiding. Since the Summit, PAC-ADE conducted its first plenary session meeting at Spelman College, and developed the EdTech initiative announced during Kenyan President Ruto’s visit to Spelman College. The Council also conducted its inaugural visit to the continent in July 2024 to Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria, where they met with government, civil society, and private-sector partners to discuss diaspora-led investments in education, entrepreneurship, health, technology, youth and women empowerment, and the creative industries. The Council held its final meeting of the year in October 2024, with remarks by Assistant to the President, Senior Advisor to the President, and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement Mayor Steve Benjamin. Several members of the Council joined President Biden on his trip to Angola in December 2024. In concert with PAC-ADE’s keen focus on increasing business ties with the continent, Prosper Africa has prioritized the support of Diaspora firms and investors, resulting in a portfolio of notable transactions with Diaspora-owned and led firms. These include Cybastion’s partnership with Cisco Systems on over $800 million of cybersecurity and digital upgrade contracts in six countries. Prosper Africa also established active partnerships with leading Diaspora organizations, including joining with USAID to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Alliance for Black Business, an organization founded in 2022 by the National Black Chamber of Commerce, the National Business League, and the World Conference of Mayors. In addition to PAC-ADE, the U.S. Government is investing in Diaspora engagement through education. The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) embodies our investment in our shared future by providing training opportunities for diverse African youth. At the Summit, Vice President Harris announced plans to expand YALI. As part of this expansion, in September 2023, USAID launched the YALI Legacy Localization award to expand the work of the four Regional Leadership Centers on the continent that provide transformative leadership training. In November 2024, the USAID-led YALI Alumni Expo and Trade Show took place in Cape Town, South Africa, where over 500 YALI alumni showcased their innovations and fostered connection with experts and officials from the private sector, civil society, government, and the diaspora community. Digital Transformation with AfricaLaunched at the Summit, the Digital Transformation with Africa (DTA) initiative aims to expand digital access in Africa, increase commercial engagement between U.S. and African companies in the digital sector, support increased digital literacy, and strengthen digital enabling environments across Africa. DTA works in alignment with the priorities outlined in the AU’s Digital Transformation Strategy to enable innovative, inclusive and sustainable growth and development. DTA’s work is organized across the following three pillars:Digital Economy and Infrastructure In May 2024, Vice President Harris launched two public-private partnerships-the Mobilizing Access to the Digital Economy (MADE) Alliance: Africa and the Partnership for Digital Access in Africa (PDAA). Both focus on increasing digital inclusion across Africa. The MADE Alliance aims to provide digital access to critical services for 100 million individuals and businesses in Africa over the next 10 years. PDAA will support African institutions to double the number of people connected to the internet in Africa from 40% to 80%, connect one billion people to the internet by 2030, and increase internet connectivity for women and girls from 30% to 80%. Since December 2022, USTDA has funded 20 activities to build the business case for innovative U.S. technologies that help to advance inclusive, secure, and sustainable digital infrastructure across Africa, including priority connectivity, cybersecurity, and smart cities projects. USTDA is leveraging its grant-based funding for project preparation, which mitigates risk and unlocks bankable infrastructure projects. Prosper Africa leads the Africa Tech for Trade Alliance (AT4T) with the support of USAID. AT4T unites leading American and African tech companies to accelerate e-commerce and digital trade in Africa. Alliance members include Visa, Mastercard, Intel, Cisco, Google, AWS and others. By leveraging U.S. companies’ technology assets, services, and expertise, the alliance fosters U.S.-Africa trade in fintech, ag-tech, eHealth and more. In April 2024, the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (PAC-DBIA), the Department of Commerce, and USTDA led a mission to the American Chamber of Commerce Business Summit in Kenya. In Nairobi, they announced U.S. private sector commitments and collaborations, including initiatives in data protection, artificial intelligence, digital upskilling, and new investments in digital connectivity, women’s tech leadership, and a cybersecurity experience center. Human Capital Development In May 2024, USAID announced the DTA-YALI Partnership to leverage YALI Regional Leadership Centers to expand digital skills and literacy, support digital entrepreneurs and start-ups, and increase private sector engagement in 49 African countries. USAID is also expanding the “Responsible Computer Challenges” to universities and educators in Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa. This activity aims to empower students to account for the social and ethical context and impact of digital technologies, including frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence. The Department of State prioritizes biosafety and biosecurity capacity building in Africa. Over the past two years, the State Department has conducted trainings on cyberbiosecurity and secure data sharing to promote safe and timely coordination during outbreak responses. The Department of State has ongoing efforts in practical cyberbiosecurity literacy for high containment laboratories to institutionalize cyberhygiene practices and to build both in-country and regional networks of leaders in cyberbiosecurity. USAID and MCC are supporting the DigiFemmes program as part of MCC’s $536 million Compact with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire. DigiFemmes provides the leadership, innovation, and technical training women need to grow their businesses through data and digital tools. Nearly 9,000 women-owned small and medium enterprises have benefited from the $5.3 million program. DigiFemmes graduates also accessed a total of $525,000 in follow-on funding distributed as small grants by the U.S. African Development Foundation to help refine their products and expand their markets through digital tools and innovations. In March 2024, MCC and the Government of Togo launched Nanatech, a program designed to equip Togolese women and entrepreneurs with the digital skills they need to benefit from the growing digital economy. To date, nearly 2,000 women and 200 supporting organizations have benefited. Digital Enabling Environment In September 2024, the United States hosted the landmark Global Inclusivity and Artificial Intelligence: Africa (GIAA) Conference in Lagos, Nigeria, bringing together over 400 stakeholders, including government officials, industry leaders, civil society members, startup founders, and academics, to discuss the safe, secure, inclusive, and trustworthy deployment of artificial intelligence on the continent. The GIAA conference underscored the growing importance of Africa’s inclusion in artificial intelligence development and the continent’s key role in the global emerging technology landscape. In November 2024, representatives from the Department of Commerce, Department of State, USAID, and USTDA participated in a variety of engagements during the Africa Tech Festival in Cape Town, South Africa. DTA hosted a U.S. Government side event for over 100 stakeholders from the U.S. and African public and private sectors to discuss key challenges to expanding digital access, increasing digital literacy, and strengthening digital enabling environments across Africa. Participants discussed innovative U.S. and African solutions and collaborative strategies to advance Africa’s digital transformation. USAID is working with Afrobarometer, through the United States Institute of Peace, to conduct public surveys to assess public awareness, perception, and understanding of digital threats, online safety, and cybersecurity in Benin, Kenya, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania, Senegal, and Angola. USAID continues to facilitate discussions, build capacity, and deliver expert advisory services to the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat to develop and implement the Digital Trade Protocol to help advance international and intra-African digital economy and regulatory standards. Partnerships in Gender Equality and Women’s EmpowermentThe Administration has elevated gender equity and equality across our foreign policy in Africa and around the world. Societies-including the United States-do better when women participate and have equal opportunities. Advancing the status of women and girls reduces poverty and promotes sustainable economic growth, increases access to education, improves health outcomes, advances political stability, and fosters democracy. During the Summit, Vice President Harris announced new commitments to advance women’s economic participation in Africa, including the revitalization of the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP). Vice President Harris launched the Women in Digital Economy Fund (WiDEF) in 2023 to accelerate efforts to close the gender digital divide. WiDEF and the corresponding Women in the Digital Economy Initiative have together catalyzed over $1 billion in commitments from governments, the private sector, foundations, and civil society to accelerate digital gender equality - including $102 million in U.S. direct and aligned commitments. In addition, President Biden secured a historic commitment from G20 leaders to halve the digital gender gap by 2030. Vice President Harris also launched the Women in the Sustainable Economy Initiative (WISE) in 2023 to promote women’s participation in sectors that address climate change. Together, WiDEF and WISE represent a commitment of over $3 billion, including millions to empower African women and girls. In July 2024, SBA, Howard University’s Small Business Development Center, AWEP, the State Department, and the Department of Commerce cooperated on an event uniting local and African women-owned businesses on the margins of the 2024 AGOA Forum. The program and marketplace facilitated business networking and an exchange of best practices on inclusive trade and to support for small business partnerships. The event built on SBA’s February 2024 virtual event “Connecting U.S. and West African Small Businesses.” Over the past two years, DFC has deepened its commitment to advancing economic empowerment across Africa through a range of impactful investments. Key investments include a $100 million loan to First City Monument Bank, Ltd., expanding access to longer-term loans for women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises in Nigeria; the 2X Ignite Africa Warehousing Facility, providing critical portfolio-building capital to female-led and gender-balanced fund managers; and a $10 million equity investment in Janngo Capital Startup Fund to fuel the growth of African startups, with at least 50% of funding to women-led enterprises. Each of these investments reflects DFC’s dedication to empowering women, driving innovation, and building sustainable pathways for economic independence. The Department of State, through the Support Her Empowerment-Women’s Inclusion in New Security (SHE WINS) initiative, has invested more than $9 million globally and supported seven women-led and women-serving civil society organizations in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In August 2024, under the SHE WINS Rapid Response Fund, the United States, in partnership with Norway and Canada, convened a group of Sudanese women civil society leaders to inform discussions on a ceasefire, humanitarian access, and monitoring mechanisms. Announced during Vice President Harris’ visit to Ghana in 2023, the Imarisha Women’s Initiative is helping women advance in their careers, improve their skill sets, and increase their income, while creating more flexible and supportive workplaces. The first cohort of four companies in East Africa are providing leadership, mentorship, and skill trainings; menstrual health and hygiene and lactation support; and programs on the prevention of and response to gender-based violence and harassment in the workplace. The post FACT SHEET: Celebrating U.S.-Africa Partnership Two Years After the 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit appeared first on The White House.