Today, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Acting Deputy Administrator John Barsa announced a brand new, continent-wide Prosper Africa program in trade and investment. Worth up to $500 million over five years, subject to the availability of funds, this flagship program will offer new and expanded support services to increase two-way trade and investment between Africa and the United States substantially. For every $1 of public funding, Prosper Africa is expected to leverage more than $9 in private investment, which will deliver billions of dollars in exports and investments and create hundreds of thousands of African and American jobs by 2026.

This is not just a new program; it is a new way of doing business that will dramatically expand the investment by the United States in Africa’s growth by harnessing private-sector resources and innovation. With Prosper Africa, the U.S.-Africa relationship is evolving from an aid-based focus to a true partnership in trade and investment—based on dignity, equality, mutual respect, and profitability. By connecting U.S. and African companies with new business opportunities, we will create jobs, drive growth, and foster shared prosperity.

USAID’s new program, which will launch in early 2021, will advance the goals of the U.S. Government’s Prosper Africa initiative by increasing trade, driving investment, and supporting healthy business climates. Through a continent-wide approach, with satellite offices that will support North and sub-Saharan Africa, this new program will provide well-coordinated services aligned with private-sector needs. It will complement the U.S. Government’s other tools for trade and investment through customized services – from business consulting and transaction-facilitation to targeted policy interventions.

Prosper Africa is the U.S. Government’s initiative to increase two-way trade and investment between Africa and the United States substantially. The initiative mobilizes all of the U.S. Government’s support services for trade and investment, across 17 participating federal departments and agencies, to help U.S. and African businesses and investors identify partners, advance opportunities, and close deals. The pre-solicitation for the new USAID-funded program is available here.