World
US-Africa Business Summit: Partnering for Sustainable Success
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) held the US-Africa business summit in Dallas, Texas, on May 6-9 with the theme US-Africa Business: Partnering for Sustainable Success gathered several African leaders, senior US and African government officials, and corporate business executives to review performance, discuss existing challenges and chart future pathways into the commercial spheres across Africa.
While it aims at forging strategic partnerships and exploring investment opportunities, the participants gain important insights from industry experts and business thought leaders. Principally the Texas summit hosted the largest African diaspora population of any state in the United States. Dallas, as the location of headquarters and major business operations for a large number of Fortune 1000 firms, was the ideal location to facilitate the exchange of ideas and strategies that will shape the future of US-Africa business relations and private sector-led economic growth both in the United States and on the African continent.
Speeches and discussions were delivered successfully. Among the African leaders who delivered speeches included President Mokgweetsi E.K. Masisi of the Republic of Botswana, President Faure Gnassingbé of the Republic of Togo, and Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera of the Republic of Malawi. The presence of large numbers of African leaders and representatives, in fact, underscored the importance of the summit as a platform for high-level discussions and economic partnerships between the United States and Africa.
Dr Mokgweetsi E.K. Masisi, President of the Republic of Botswana, has made a strong case for Botswana as a top investment destination, citing the country’s stability, progressive policies, and strategic initiatives promoting economic growth and sustainability.
The Botswana leader spoke during the ‘Doing Business in Botswana’ session in Dallas, Texas. Addressing a strong audience of potential investors, and summit attendees, President Masisi outlined Botswana’s strategic priorities under the ‘Reset Agenda,’ which aims for significant post-pandemic recovery and sustainable development. He emphasized vital areas such as digitization, value-chain development, and green energy, highlighting the country’s commitment to digital innovation and boosting key economic sectors such as agriculture, tourism, and mining.
President Masisi also called for enhanced women’s role in trade during the summit’s panel session, organized by the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) in partnership with the United States Department of Commerce Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP), the Africa Women and Youth Empowerment Group (AWYEG), and the Corporate Council on Africa.
President Masisi pointed out women’s significant economic contributions, particularly through informal cross-border trade valued at $17.6 billion. In spite of their contributions, women frequently face exploitation and violence, with little protection. To address these challenges, Botswana’s head of state emphasized the importance of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which is expected to boost Africa’s income by $450 billion by 2035 and significantly increase intra-African exports.
Standard Bank, the leading bank and financial services group in Africa, championed the vital role of global trade, economic development and robust partnerships at the opening of a power-packed U.S.-Africa business summit. With Texas as an international business hub and home of a large and vibrant African diaspora community, the event carries significant weight for Dallas, a gateway to global markets and cross-cultural connections.
“Trade and investment are economic lifelines, and this meeting links immense potential in Africa with the powerhouse market of the United States,” said Anne Aliker, Standard Bank’s Group Head, Corporate and Investment Banking, Client Coverage. “Both offer abundant growth opportunities, leveraging Africa’s markets and resources while providing avenues for US businesses to diversify.”
African countries’ effective participation in the ever-evolving international trade landscape is central to boosting the continent’s development. While African exports of goods and services have registered faster growth in the past decade, the volumes remain low, stagnant and heavily skewed toward primary goods.
Aliker said the policymakers must broaden their perspective beyond conventional methods to engage actively in today’s broad markets. Although Africa has about 18% of the world’s population, it has only about 2.9% of global GDP and only 2.2% of world exports. According to the US Census Bureau, Africa exported $38.1 billion worth of goods to the U.S. and imported U.S. goods worth $28.6 billion in 2023.
“Trade is deeply rooted in Africa’s history and essential for its future development. We’re committed to using our position, presence and insight to inform and grow the continent’s trade ecosystem,” she said.
Discussions over the reauthorization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a cornerstone of US efforts to cultivate deeper economic relations with sub-Saharan Africa, allowing countries there to export certain products to the US duty-free. Last July, the Biden administration reported facilitating more than 900 deals across 47 African countries since 2021, for an estimated $22 billion in two-way trade and investment. Also, the US private sector sealed investment deals exceeding $8.6 billion.
Fielding questions on the sidelines, Jonathan Stember says the growth potential in Africa is considerable and the US must rethink its business mindset and strategy towards Africa. As a prominent figure in political and corporate global campaigns for over 25 years, Jonathan Stember says there are broad areas of win-win partnerships and cooperation between US firms and entities and Africa.
Creating a reliable partnership, whether in Africa or globally, mirrors the challenges inherent in any business endeavour—it demands dedication and perseverance. Mutual trust is key for success among all parties involved. Communication, a fundamental aspect of human interaction, plays a crucial role in nurturing these partnerships. Our efforts have resulted in the establishment of bridges that facilitate connections between Africa and the US, fostering mutual growth and understanding. Africa presents an array of prospects spanning technology, youth empowerment, food security, trade and commerce, and the establishment of sustainable economies.
During the business sessions, CCA was proud to partner with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to celebrate its 20th anniversary and highlight MCC’s $10.4 billion US government investment in infrastructure across more than 24 African countries. From power projects to roads, ports, education, ICT, health and more —MCC’s 42 country-driven development programs address binding constraints to economic growth. A high-level event celebrating MCC’s 20th anniversary featured distinguished guests, including President George W. Bush and other notable U.S. government and African leaders.
MCC has worked side-by-side with partner countries to deliver on priorities that promote entrepreneurialism, private sector business investment and job creation for two decades. MCC’s anniversary event promises to set the tone for the summit, showcasing government and private sector commitment to partnership, US-Africa trade, investment, business, and sustainable economic development.
The US-Africa business summit served as a platform for African and US private sector and government representatives to engage at the highest levels on a range of issues impacting the US-Africa economic relationship. The sessions focused on key sectors including agribusiness, energy, health, infrastructure, security, trade facilitation, ICT, creative industries, and finance.
The participants networked with key private sector and government officials, explored new business opportunities, interacted with potential business partners, and forged new business deals. In addition, the gathering also served as an opportunity to shape and advocate for effective US-Africa trade and investment policies. Over the last 30 years, CCA has hosted over 50 US and African Heads of State and over 15,000 participants at its summits.
One distinguishing feature in US-African relations is the Global Development Alliance (GDA) is USAID’s premier model for public-private partnerships. Its connectivity and support for the African-American diaspora in immeasurable. According to World Bank Statistics, remittance inflows to sub-Saharan Africa soared from $49 billion in 2021 to an estimated $68 billion. Beyond remittances, Africa stands to benefit largely from the input of its diaspora considered progressive in the United States.
Over the years, African leaders have been engaging with their diaspora, especially those excelling in sports, academia, business, science, technology, engineering and other significant fields that the continent needs to optimize its diverse potentials and to meet development priorities. These professionals primarily leverage various sectors and act as bridges between the United States and Africa. President Joe Biden has created the African Diaspora Advisory Council as part of the presidency. It has been working closely together to deepen and fortify America’s strategic partnerships with the African diaspora in the interests of sustaining meaningful stability between Africa and the United States.
Until today, the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) continues to run various educational and training programs including short professional courses, conferences and seminars for Africans. It has some other economic development programs, like the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs program. Since its inception in 2019, this program has provided more than 5,400 women throughout Africa with the training and networks they need to start and scale small businesses.
The United States is not only the undisputed leader of the free world but also home to the most dynamic African diaspora. The African diaspora ranks amongst the most educated immigrant groups and is found excelling and making invaluable contributions in all sectors of life-business, medicine, healthcare, engineering, transportation and more. The contribution of the African diaspora is not negligible, we see more of them appointed to senior government positions by President Joe Biden.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai also told the gathering there about the necessity to establish more investment, in addition to market access. The duty-free access for nearly 40 African countries has boosted development, and fostered more equitable and sustainable growth in Africa. The AGOA offered promise as a “stepping stone to address regional and global challenges” with Africa’s young and entrepreneurial population. The future is Africa, and engaging with this continent is the key to prosperity for all of us, according to Katherine Tai.
The last 2023 business summit was a tremendous success which took place in Botswana. The participants – most importantly – private sector corporate executives looked at Africa and the United States engaging in strategic dialogue on the key issues and opportunities driving US-Africa trade, investment, and commercial engagement. “The pace of engagement with Africa by President Biden and his Cabinet Secretaries is unprecedented, especially the strong focus on supporting private sector trade and investment deals. There can be no mistaking the strength of President Biden and his Administration’s commitment to and engagement with Africa,” says Corporate Council on Africa chairperson Florie Liser.
The Texas business summit was organized by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) in conjunction with the Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which is an independent U.S. Government agency that partners with developing countries to reduce poverty through economic growth. The US Trade and Development Agency and Foreign Affairs’ Africa Department offered its full-fledged support.
The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) is the leading U.S. business association focused solely on connecting business interests in Africa. According to its reports, the CCA was established in 1993 and has been pivotal in promoting business and investment between Africa and the United States, serving as a trusted intermediary for over three decades. Its primary mission is to strengthen commercial relations between Africa and the United States of America.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Prime Minister of Canada, Mr Justin Trudeau, has resigned as the country’s ruling Liberal Party leader amid growing discontent in the North American country.
Mr Trudeau’s exit comes amid intensified political headwinds after his finance minister and closest political ally abruptly quit last month.
Mr Trudeau, who said he would remain in office until a new party leader is chosen, has faced growing calls from within his party to step down.
Polls show the Liberals are set to lose this year’s election to the Conservative opposition.
“As you all know, I’m a fighter,” Mr Trudeau said on Monday, but “it has become obvious to me with the internal battles that I cannot be the one to carry the Liberal standard into the next election,” he stated.
His exit comes as Canada faces tariff threats from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump.
The Republican and his allies have repeatedly taunted Mr Trudeau in recent weeks, with Mr Trump mocking Canada as the “51st state” of the US.
Mr Trudeau also lamented that the Conservative leader, Mr Pierre Poilievre, is not the right vision for Canadians.
“Stopping the fight against climate change doesn’t make sense,” he tells reporters, adding that “attacking journalists” is “not what Canadians need in this moment”.
“We need an ambitious, optimistic view of the future, and Pierre Poilievre is not offering that.”
Mr Trudeau also said he was looking forward to the fight as progressives “stand up” for a vision for a better country “despite the tremendous pressures around the world to think smaller”.
He also clarified that he won’t be calling an election, saying the Canadian parliament has been “seized by obstruction, filibustering and a total lack of productivity” for the past several months.
“It’s time for a reset,” he said, adding that, “It’s time for the temperature to come down, for the people to have a fresh start in parliament, to be able to navigate through these complex times.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Start-ups in Africa raised $2.2 billion in 2024 in funding across equity, debt and grants, lower than the $2.9 billion raised in 2023 by 25 per cent amid a continued slowdown after a peak of $4.6 billion recorded in 2022.
The Big Deal noted that this excludes exits – which is when investors realise a return on their investments, most likely when the startup has become profitable or when there is a change of ownership.
The funding slowdown has occurred for consecutive years due to a wider global funding freeze impacted by macroeconomic developments and geopolitical events as well as a change in market offering trend leading to funding going elsewhere.
There have also been concerns about inflated valuations, business sustainability, and increased due diligence and scrutiny from investors.
For the review year, there wasn’t much funding activity as $800 million (36 per cent) of the total funding was computed in the first six months, while the remaining $1.4 billion came in the second half of 2024.
The $1.4 billion raised in H2 alone (+25 per cent YoY and +80 per cent compared to H1), made it the second-best semester since the beginning of the ‘funding winter’ in mid-2022.
This development was considerably driven by two deals in the fourth quarter of last year, which minted two fresh unicorns in the African startup space, in the form of Nigeria’s Moniepoint and South Africa’s Tyme Group.
This was the first such event since early 2023, as the companies joined the exclusive club that has MNT-Halan, Interswitch, Flutterwave, Chipper, OPay, Andela, and Wave as members.
Some of the raises reported include Yellow Card raising $33 million in October to fund its growth and expansion, JuicyWay raising $3 million pre-seed to facilitate affordable cross-border payments, as well as Seedstars Africa Ventures raising $42 million in its first-ever round to help pioneering African startups in climate, food systems, energy, and payments infrastructure sectors.
The data showed that a total of 188 ventures raised $1 million or more in 2024 (excluding exits), which is just 10 per cent less than in 2023 (169 ventures).
On the exit front, there were 22 exits made public last year (up 10 per cent) versus 20 in 2023.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
For three working days, 9th –11th January 2025, in the Speke Resort Conference Centre in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, the African Union Commission (AUC) will host the Extraordinary Summit on the Post-Malabo Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). This Summit is supported by the Government of Uganda.
The event is organized jointly by the African Union Commission, Department of Agriculture Rural Development Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (DARBE) and African Union Development Agency- New Partnership African Development (AUDA-NEPAD).
Dignitaries will deliver statements on the consideration of the Kampala Declaration, the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Ten-Year Strategy and Action Plan (2026-2035); the draft Statute of Africa Food Safety Agency; and the report on selection of African Union Centres of Excellence for Research and Training in Fisheries, Aquaculture, Aquatic Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystems Management.
The Objectives of the Summit:
The convening of the extraordinary session of the Assembly is specifically to:
Endorse the draft Kampala CAADP Declaration. The draft declaration provides a vision for transforming Africa’s Agrifood Systems for the period: 2026-2035.
Endorse Ten-Year CAADP Strategy and Action Plan: 2026-2035. This plan provides details on how to achieve the goals and targets in the draft Kampala CAADP Declaration.
Risk Management and Mitigation
The post-Malabo CAADP strategy will span ten years, from 2626 to 2035. Given the longtime horizon, many risks and uncertainties could affect the strategic positioning of the agri-food systems transformation agenda to deliver on its goals. There are external socioeconomic, environmental, and other shocks that might come up, which will demand that the strategy be agile enough to respond to such unforeseen developments. The strategy will therefore call for institutional adaptation to changes in a complex and rapidly changing context. Major risks and uncertainties will need to be identified and outlined together with their respective mitigation actions.
Key interventions to ensure better risk management include:
- Identify potential risks (e.g., political instability, climate change) and put in place mechanisms for dealing with or mitigating such risks
- Identify health crises, including pandemics or epidemics, early and develop mechanisms for minimizing negative impacts
- Identify and address gender inequalities or biases and restrictive social norms that may limit the access of women and youth to education, resources, and decision making processes thereby preventing them from fully participating in and benefiting from agricultural activities or initiatives
- Invest in durable peace because it is essential for building resilient agri-food systems (from the local to global levels) and affects agricultural production, food security, market access, investment, resilience, and social cohesion. Establishing and maintaining peace is critical for enabling long-lasting investment to unlock the full potential of Africa’s agri-food systems. The Kampala CAADP Declaration will need to emphasize establishing conflict-resolution mechanisms at the community level while strengthening local markets and value chains.
- Promote household insurance and other coping mechanisms that can help mitigate the impact of health shocks on livelihoods. These mechanisms will be key to enhancing the resilience of communities.
- Enhance public health surveillance systems to detect and respond to health threats, including of zoonotic origin. It will also be important to strengthen food safety measures to prevent health shocks related to foodborne diseases.
- Financial resources will be required to achieve the Kampala CAADP declaration’s resilience objectives. Specifically, households need access to credit, savings, and other financial instruments that help them weather economic shocks.
- Food price monitoring: It will be necessary to implement policies that stabilize food markets and prevent price volatility to ensure a steady supply of food and agricultural inputs.
- Capacities development of African governments to formulate resilience-focused policy measures is a critical step and a priority for the CAADP Strategy and Action Plan. Mainstreaming resilience-focused policies will trickle down to operational actions led by various stakeholders towards sustainable agri-food systems.
Background: The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) has been crucial in driving agricultural transformation across Africa since its inception in 2003. The program is aimed at increasing food security and nutrition, reducing rural poverty, creating employment, and contributing to economic development while safeguarding the environment. CAADP aims for a 6% annual growth rate in the agricultural sector, with African Union member states allocating at least 10% of their budgets to agriculture.
Building on the Maputo Declaration (2003-2013), the 2014 Malabo CAADP Declaration renewed commitment to CAADP and established ambitious goals for 2025, including eradicating hunger, reducing malnutrition, tripling intra-African trade, and building resilience of livelihoods and production systems. The Malabo Declaration underscored the importance of mutual accountability through agricultural biennial reviews and recognized the essential role of related sectors like infrastructure and rural development. During the Thirty-Seventh Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly in February 2024, the Heads of State and Government expressed concern that the continent is not on track to meet the Malabo CAADP goals and targets by 2025. This has spurred a call for the development of a post-Malabo CAADP agenda to build resilient agri-food systems.
It is in this context that the An Extraordinary Summit of The African Union Assembly of Heads of States and Governments is scheduled for January 9th to 11th 2025 in Kampala, Uganda, to deliberate on the post-Malabo CAADP agenda to consider the draft Ten-Year CAADP Strategy and Action Plan with its associated draft Kampala Declaration on Advancing Africa’s Inclusive Agrifood Systems Transformation for Sustainable Economic Growth and Shared Prosperity.
Format and Structure of the Summit: The Extraordinary Summit will start with a one-day meeting of the Ministers responsible for Agriculture, Rural Development Water and Environment on the 9th of January 2025, to be followed by Joint Session of the Ministers of Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment together with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs on the 10th of January 2025.
The sessions will feature two presentations the: i) draft CAADP Ten-Year Strategy and Action Plan (2026-2035); ii) draft Kampala CAADP Declaration and both will be done in closed sessions. The Ministerial sessions will be structured to encourage inclusive and interactive conversations and dialogue among the Ministers, as well as between the Ministers and key strategic stakeholders. At the same time, it will enable the Ministers to review the strategic documents presented to them for their consideration and recommendations to the Assembly.
The Assembly of Heads of State and Government will convene on the 11th of January 2025 to endorse the: i) draft Ten-Year CAADP Strategy and Action Plan (2026-2035); ii) draft Kampala CAADP Declaration.
Participants: The Extraordinary Summit on the CAADP Agenda will be attended by Heads of States and Government of the African Union Member State, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, PRCs, Ministers and Experts in-Charge of Agriculture (forestry, fisheries, crops and livestock), Rural Development, Water and Environment, RECs, Youth, Women, Non-State Actors, Media, Academia and Development Partners
African Union: The AU is guided by its vision of “An Integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.” The African Union (AU) is a continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African Continent. To ensure the realisation of its objectives and the attainment of the Pan African Vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, Agenda 2063 was developed as a strategic framework for Africa’s long term socio-economic and integrative transformation. Agenda 2063 calls for greater collaboration and support for African led initiatives to ensure the achievement of the aspirations of African people.
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