World
Extending AGOA Reflects African Exporters Access to US Markets
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
As the geopolitical situation intensifies, with U.S. President Donald Trump imposing huge trade tariffs to either restrict or regulate export transactions to United States, African leaders and entrepreneurs have mounted critical efforts to re-negotiate the extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which expires 30th September 2025. Over the past few years, African leaders have been advocating for large-scale structural reforms, financial inadequacies and policy approach by multinational institutions mostly dominated by the United States. Notwithstanding Africa’s huge untapped resources, Africa still looks to United States, multinational financial institutions to savage its economy.
In spite of this consistent criticism over current U.S. policy which has flattened relations with Africa since the ascension of Donald Trump into the White House in Washington, African leaders and exporters are feverishly trying to reaffirm their commitment to deepening their comprehensive strategic trade partnership, desirous to sustain AGOA through which to generate foreign currency incomes to their state coffers. Despite the indelible fact that European and Asian markets are alternatives to explore, African exporters still highly value trade sustainbility with United States. AGOA should promptly be renewed, as it has been the case before, otherwise it would impact so negatively on diverse developments across Africa.
What’s AGOA and Why it Matters for Africa:
AGOA, enacted on 18th May 2000, provides eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the U.S. market, but current due to expire on 30th September 2025. The duty-free access for nearly 40 African countries has boosted development, fostered more equitable and sustainable growth in Africa. By design AGOA is a useful mechanism for improving accessibility to trade competitiveness, connectivity, and productivity. During these past 25 years, AGOA has been the cornerstone of U.S. economic engagement with the countries of sub-Saharan Africa.
In the context of the crucial geopolitical changes, many African leaders, corporate executives, and the business community are still searching for mutually beneficial trade partnerships with United States. With the changing times, Africa is also building its muscles towards a new direction since the introduction of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which was officially launched in July 2019. In practical terms, trading started under the AfCFTA from January 2021.
The United States has prioritized the AfCFTA. And AGOA, which offers a trade preference program, perfectly fits into that. It provides duty-free access to the U.S. market for eligible products and trading services from designated sub-Saharan African countries. It was enacted in May 2000 and aims to boost economic growth and development in the region through trade.
Sample Case Studies, Trade Volumes with United States:
U.S. and South Africa signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) as far back as in 2012. The trade agreement establishes a forum for consultative discussions, cooperative work, and possible agreements on a wide range of trade issues, with a special focus on customs and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, and trade and investment promotion. South Africa trade summary records show that U.S. goods and services trade with South Africa totaled an estimated $26.2 billion in 2024.
For instance, South African Trade Minister Parks Tau has held several talks, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, these months until September 2025, aimed at maintaining trade relations with United States. South Africa hosts the G20 presidency, and utilizing its G20 presidency as an instrument for negotiating for trade, an opportunity when missed would impavt seriously on South Africa. Many sub-Saharan African countries would face similar fate seriously without AGOA.
With Angola, the first meeting of the United States-Angolan Council on Trade and Investment was held in June 2010 in Luanda. U.S. goods and services trade with Angola totaled an estimated $3.2 billion in 2024. In June 2025, Luanda, capital city of Angola, hosted the U.S.-Africa trade summit. United States has invested in the construction of Lobito highway corridor.
Its neighbouring Central African Republic has U.S. goods and services trade totaled an estimated $74.4 million in 2024. Comparatively, the U.S. goods and services trade with Democratic Republic of Congo totaled an estimated $1.0 billion in 2024, up 8.4 percent ($ 79.1 million) from 2023.
Ethiopia trade summary shows that the U.S. goods and services trade with Ethiopia totaled an estimated $4.3 billion in 2024, up 28.4 percent ($940.2 million) from 2023. Ethiopia has the largest of its citizens in the United States.
In the bid to diversify its economy from its dependence on crude oil, which accounts for nearly all the value of exports, Nigeria strives to build its agricultural, mining, and manufacturing sectors, especially in the automotive assembly, cement, textile, and clothing sectors. This has led to talks and negotiations of trade agreements with United States. Nigeria also has large number of its citizens domicile in America. U.S. goods and services trade with Ghana totaled an estimated $3.8 billion in 2024, while with Nigeria totaled an estimated $13.0 billion in 2024, up 16.5 percent ($1.8 billion) from 2023. With Tanzania, it totaled an estimated $1.4 billion in 2024.
Key features and benefits of AGOA:
It’s worth reiterating here that during these past several years, AGOA has been the cornerstone of U.S. economic engagement with the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. In this case, as AGOA is closely working with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and with the African Union (AU), trade professionals could primarily leverage various economic sectors and unwaveringly act as bridges between the United States and Africa.
Duty-free Access: AGOA allows eligible products from sub-Saharan African countries to enter the U.S. market without paying tariffs.
Promotion of Economic Growth: The program encourages economic growth by providing incentives for African countries to open their economies and build free markets.
Encouraging Economic Reforms: AGOA encourages economic and political reforms in eligible countries, including the rule of law and market-oriented policies.
Increased Trade and Investment: The program aims to strengthen trade and investment ties between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa.
Economic Growth and Employment Creation: AGOA has been instrumental in creating employment by raising exports. It further encourages raising exports to the United States. In addition, AGOA has helped eligible countries to work towards economic growth across the African continent. It establishes the process of transforming a market-based economy and sets the criteria for diversification and strengthening trade policy interests between the United States and Africa.
Recent Developments: AGOA’s authorization is scheduled to expire in September 2025. The ongoing debates have intensified, with the majority of African leaders calling for its extension. This implies affirmation of United States policy by Africa and its evolving position within the context of multipolarity. The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) has taken robust steps and adopted a fast-tracking approach to rally African leaders and the U.S. Congress to promptly renew AGOA. The CCA, established in 1993, provides unparalleled access to high-level decision-makers, curated networking opportunities, market intelligence, and a platform to shape policy and drive business.
Arguments for U.S.-Africa As Inseparable Biological Twins:
Besides the indelible benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), some African strategists and research analysts indisputably believe that financial remittance flow is definitely one of the surest reliable sources of foreign exchange, depending solely on the dollar currency, to support trade.
In its latest report released in June 2024, the World Bank indicated that, despite the geopolitical uncertainties, instability and challenges, sub-Saharan Africa’s remittance flow reached US$54 billion in 2023. According to World Bank Statistics, remittance inflows to sub-Saharan Africa stood at US$49 billion in 2021.
The U.S.-African Diaspora Factor: Over the years, African leaders have been engaging with their diaspora, especially those excelling in the academia, business, science, technology, engineering, sports and other fields that the continent needs to optimize its diverse potentials and to meet development priorities. These professionals primarily leverage into various sectors, act as bridges between the United States and Africa. Beyond remittances, Africa stands to benefit largely from the input of its diaspora considered as progressive in the United States. Looking ahead for ensuring the trade between the United States and Africa, therefore requires reviewing measures such as trade policy, trade facilitation, productive capacity, trade-related infrastructure, trade finance, trade information and factor-market integration.
In an analytical summary, AGOA is a significant trade policy that has played a crucial role in promoting economic growth and development in sub-Saharan Africa. Beyond that, it is therefore necessary—African leaders, the U.S. government, both U.S. and African trade agencies, the private sector, civil society, and stakeholders—to combine the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) as the cornerstone in strengthening a new path towards economic partnership with Africa. The logical AGOA extension is unreservedly supported by the African Union (AU) and Regional Economic Blocs. The tremendous growing potential of African Diaspora and its inseparable cultural involvement in trade and economic sectors makes it an imperative life-wire for prompt extension and the sustainability of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
One year after launching a continental initiative designed to make excellence in public governance the foundation of a new drive to transform Africa, LEAD, the Africa CEO Forum’s pan-African leadership programme, takes stock of its first cohort and announces the launch of its second class. Built around a community of senior public decision-makers committed to modernising the state and to the continent’s digital transformation, this new cohort gathers for three days, from 28 to 30 August 2026, on the campus of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Rabat, Morocco.
A second cohort that confirms the programme’s durability
For its second class, LEAD brings together 50 fellows, senior public decision-makers engaged in the design and implementation of the continent’s economic and social policies. Over three days, participants take part in collective and collaborative working sessions, peer exchanges and meetings with figures from the public, business and academic spheres, in order to compare their practices and build shared responses to the major challenges of governance.
Speakers include Mehdi Jomaa, former Head of Government of Tunisia, Donald Kaberuka, Managing Partner & Founder, SouthBridge Group, and former President of the African Development Bank, Serge Ekue, President of the West African Development Bank (BOAD), Sanjay Jain, co-creator of India Stack and Director of Digital Public Infrastructure, Gates Foundation, and Mauricio Cardenas, Professor of Professional Practice in Global Leadership, Columbia SIPA, and former Finance Minister of Colombia (2012-2018).
They share their reform experience, their public policy trade-offs and their view of continental priorities. Throughout the programme, the cohort benefits from the dedicated support of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Asafo & Co, BOAD, BCG and the African Development Bank, LEAD partners that have chosen to invest in the transformation of African public action.
LEAD, a pan-African community serving public action
Created by the AFRICA CEO FORUM, LEAD is a leadership programme whose ambition is to reposition Africa’s administrative elite as a driver of reform, of performance and of dialogue with all the continent’s stakeholders.
Designed for senior African public decision-makers, LEAD sets out to build a lasting community of public officials able to share their experience, compare their practices and build common solutions to the major economic, technological and institutional transformations under way in Africa. That community is structured around three pillars: modernizing the state, improving public services, and strengthening cooperation between governments, development institutions and private-sector players.
From fellows to alumni: a long-term initiative
Made up of 36 fellows drawn from a range of administrations and institutions and representing 24 countries across the continent, LEAD’s first cohort demonstrated the quality and the potential of this community from its very first year. In less than twelve months, six of its members have taken a significant step forward: two have been appointed ministers, two have moved into strategic positions at the highest level of the state and two have been promoted to chief executive roles. These moves, which account for 16.7% of the first class, show the role LEAD plays as an accelerator of impact within African administrations.
By bringing together a new cohort of fellows every year, each of them joining the LEAD alumni community, the initiative follows a long-term trajectory: in time, to unite several hundred African public decision-makers around a shared culture of transparency, performance and regional cooperation.
A first year devoted to public service and digital public infrastructure
Throughout the year, the fellows devoted their work to strengthening African public action, to make excellence in public governance a central lever of transformation. An awareness campaign, run as part of Africa Public Service Day, brought to light those who, within the continent’s administrations and institutions, are concretely transforming public policy and improving the services offered to citizens.
Members of the cohort also took part in a special round table held in Kigali during the ACF 2026, in order to carry their thinking to a wider community of public and private leaders. That forum reinforced LEAD’s role as a platform for dialogue between the administrative elite and the continent’s economic players. Digital public infrastructure (DPI) formed the main thread of this first year of work.
Discussions covered issues at the heart of the digital sovereignty of African states: digital identity, payments, secure data exchange, interoperability, governance and the protection of citizens. This work examined the conditions under which African states are developing, in some cases, and can develop, in others, shared, open infrastructure robust enough to improve the quality of public services while supporting local innovation and preserving the capacity of public authorities to set the rules of the game.
A white paper to move from consuming technology to creating value
This year of work concludes with the publication, in collaboration with BCG, LEAD’s Knowledge Partner, of a white paper on Africa’s place in the digital economy and in artificial intelligence. With the digital economy still accounting for around 5% of African GDP, against close to 15% worldwide, the paper calls on the continent to shift from a logic of technology consumption to one of value creation.
The white paper identifies three structuring priorities for African public actors:
- Building shared digital infrastructure that serves as the backbone of public services and private innovation.
- Pooling investment in order to reach critical mass and avoid the fragmentation of efforts across the continent.
- Favouring open and interoperable architectures, with trust and governance built in by design, so as to protect citizens while stimulating the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The white paper is available here to all public decision-makers, technical partners and institutions concerned.
“LEAD’s first cohort confirms a simple conviction: Africa already has the women and men capable of profoundly transforming public action. Our responsibility, either with our partners, is to give them, at pan-African level, a space in which to compare experience, build common solutions and bring forward a new generation of public policy. With this second cohort, we want to accelerate the move from ambition to execution, in particular on digital public infrastructure and artificial intelligence, two decisive issues for sovereignty, for the effectiveness of the state and for value creation across the continent,” says Amir Ben Yahmed, President of the Africa CEO Forum.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
Africa is set to make history as it hosts the World Public Summit for the first time, with Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, welcoming global leaders and changemakers from July 29–30, 2026, for the landmark gathering under the theme “New World: Africa in Shaping a Shared Future.”
The inaugural African edition of the World Public Summit marks a significant milestone in the continent’s growing role in shaping international dialogue on governance, sustainable development, human-centred leadership and global cooperation.
Hosted by the World Peoples Assembly in partnership with African and international organisations, the summit will convene government officials, diplomats, business leaders, academics, journalists, youth representatives, civil society organisations and cultural leaders from across Africa and around the world.
According to Andrey Belyaninov, General Secretary of the World Peoples Assembly, “the Summit is not just a meeting—it is a space for unity. A space where the ‘values that unite us’ come to life: respect for people, openness to the world, responsibility for the future, and a commitment to creation.
“Today, we understand more clearly than ever: the future cannot be built alone. It is born in dialogue, in trust, in the ability to listen to one another and to act together.”
The programme begins on July 29 with a series of high-level roundtables and expert discussions covering Pan-African economic integration, civil society, education, scientific cooperation, cultural diplomacy and humanitarian partnerships.
The opening plenary, “Values, Development and Partnership as the Basis of a Sustainable and Just World,” will explore how African values—including Ubuntu—can help shape a more inclusive and sustainable global future. Discussions will also focus on youth leadership, innovation, civil society, ethical AI, public initiatives and international partnerships.
The summit will also showcase Africa’s creativity and innovation through the “Innovations for the Future” exhibition, the contemporary African art exhibition “Unity,” and the international exhibition “The World Paints Happiness.”
Another featured initiative is “The Zambezi River: Economy, Society, Soul,” an international interdisciplinary project exploring the river’s socioeconomic importance across Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, highlighting the shared heritage and development potential of one of Africa’s most important waterways.
The event will conclude with the adoption of the African Communiqué, reflecting the summit’s shared vision for stronger international cooperation, sustainable development and people-centred leadership.
Tsegaye Chama, General Secretary of the Global Black Centre, promised that, “The Summit will be delivered with exceptional distinction, reflecting the magnitude and spirit of the World Peoples Assembly. It embodies a unity that is not transactional, but purposeful and conscious, a unity that shapes new contours for a world that works for all peoples of the World.”
As delegates prepare to arrive in Addis Ababa, anticipation continues to build for what promises to be one of Africa’s most significant international gatherings of 2026—one that will place the continent firmly at the centre of global conversations about the future.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria regained its position as Africa’s leading destination for equity startup investment in the first half of 2026, raising $214 million in equity financing and a total of $254 million across equity and debt, according to the latest Africa: The Big Deal report.
The report, titled H1 2026: Mapping the Money, showed that Nigeria ranked second on the continent in total funding, behind Egypt, which attracted $327 million, while Kenya and South Africa followed with $126 million and $83 million, respectively.
However, the report noted that Egypt’s top position was largely driven by a single fundraising by electric mobility company Spiro, which secured $327 million, including $270 million in equity and $57 million in debt. Excluding debt financing, Nigeria emerged as Africa’s largest equity funding market in the first six months of the year.
According to the breakdown by Africa: The Big Deal, Nigeria’s equity funding of $214 million was higher than Egypt’s $183 million, while South Africa and Kenya attracted $66 million and $46 million, respectively.
Beyond funding value, Nigeria also led the continent in the number of startups that raised at least $100,000 during the review period, reclaiming the top spot after what the report described as an “underwhelming” second half of 2025.
The publication observed that Nigeria’s fundraising performance has remained relatively stable over the past few years and exceeded the $250 million mark for the first time since 2022, pointing to renewed investor confidence in the country’s startup ecosystem.
It also found that while the Big Four startup markets—Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa—continued to dominate Africa’s investment landscape, their combined share of total funding stood at 58 per cent in the first half of 2026.
“Zooming back on the Big Four (110 out of 190 $100k+ deals, i.e. 58%), Nigeria is head and shoulders above its peers, with Egypt and Kenya almost tying, and South Africa in fourth position again,” the report noted.
The report highlighted contrasting performances among the continent’s largest startup ecosystems. While Nigeria and Egypt maintained strong funding momentum, Kenya recorded its weakest funding performance since early 2021 after a strong second half of 2025, and South Africa failed to attract $100 million in funding during the period despite leading the continent a year earlier.
Africa: The Big Deal also noted a broader shift in investor behaviour, with funding increasingly concentrated in larger transactions while early-stage investments continued to decline. According to the publication, the drop in smaller funding rounds reflects growing concerns about limited capital available for early-stage startups across Africa.
