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December 12, 2019
The Trump Administration's Prosper Africa Initiative
Prosper Africa is a Trump Administration initiative
intended to foster U.S.-African trade and commercial ties.
The initiative seeks to double U.S.-Africa trade, spur U.S.
and African economic growth, and as U.S. officials have
stated demonstrate the superior value proposition of
transparent markets and private enterprise for driving
growth.
Past Administrations have similarly sought to expand U.S.-
Africa trade and investment ties, but gains to date have
been modest. In 2018, Africa accounted for 1.6% of U.S.
global trade and 0.8% of U.S. foreign direct investment
about half the level recorded in 2010, the peak year for such
measures over the past decade. These trends suggest that
achieving significant trade and investment growth may not
be easy. As such, Congress may seek to determine whether
Prosper Africa is adequately funded, effectively configured,
and a proper vehicle to attain such goals. (For recent U.S.-
Africa trade trends, see Figure 1.)
Then-National Security Advisor John Bolton announced
Prosper Africa during a late 2018 speech unveiling the
Administration's Africa strategy. He said the initiative
would foster U.S. investment, expand Africa's middle class,
and enhance business climates across the region. He also
said it would help to counter predatory financial and
political efforts by Russia and China to gain a competitive
advantage over the United States in Africa and provide
strong alternatives to external state-directed initiatives in
the region. Prosper Africa, he stated, would encourage
African leaders to choose high-quality, transparent,
inclusive and sustainable foreign investment projects,
including from the United States, and increase African
access to finance for such projects.
The State Department's FY2020 foreign aid budget request,
which seeks $50 million for U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) implementation of Prosper Africa,
portrays the initiative as having transformative potential
both for African development and U.S. economic interests.
Prosper Africa, the request states, aims to level the playing
field for U.S. firms in Africa, increase U.S. exports,
create and support American jobs, and unleash
unmatched [U.S.] competitive advantages to vastly
accelerate U.S-Africa trade and investment. The initiative,
the request says, is to provide early market intelligence to
U.S. firms in Africa and create a pipeline of U.S.-Africa
commercial opportunities. Prosper Africa also is intended
to help close deals, design blended-finance solutions to
de-risk investment opportunities, support regulatory and
policy reforms in Africa, and remove other nontariff
barriers to investment (e.g., logistical hurdles). Through
such efforts, Prosper Africa aims to help transform U.S.-
Africa relations from an aid-based focus to [a] true trade
partnership a goal shared by several Administrations.
Prosper Africa is not a new foreign aid program. Rather, its
goal is to mobilize and harmonize the existing programs,
resources, and capabilities of 16 U.S. agencies and
departments in a cohesive, coordinated manner to achieve
the initiative's objectives. In addition to USAID, it includes
all U.S. trade promotion agencies: the Export-Import Bank
(EXIM), the Trade and Development Agency (TDA), the
Small Business Administration (SBA), and the Overseas
Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which is currently
transitioning into a new agency called the U.S. International
Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Other
participating agencies include the Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative (USTR), the Millennium Challenge
Corporation (MCC), the U.S. African Development
Foundation (USADF), and the Departments of Agriculture,
Energy, Homeland Security, State, Transportation, and the
Treasury. The roles of some of these agencies remain under
development, as do initiative impact metrics.
Figure I. U.S. Trade with Africa ($ in billions)
Exports imports
s5DB iiiii Goods ' Goods
....... ......
....... ......
............. ...... ......
... ........ ...... . ...... ...... ......
$406
2014 2015 2016 20-17 2Q18
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
According to USAID, each U.S. embassy in Africa has
formed a Prosper Africa deal team drawn from existing
mission staff. These teams' role is to link U.S. firms to
trade and investment opportunities in Africa, enable African
firms to access similar opportunities in the United States,
and facilitate private sector access to U.S. trade assistance,
financing, and insurance services. A Washington, DC-based
team supports those in Africa, as well as efforts to expand
U.S. business interest in African markets. Officials also
plan to establish a single online point of access to agencies'
services and resources, as well as information about Prosper
Africa. USAID's trade hubs in East, Southern, and West
Africa also are to help implement the initiative though the
East Africa hub is currently inactive, pending the award of
a new contract. A fourth North Africa hub also is planned.
Administration officials formally launched Prosper Africa
in mid-2019 at the U.S. Corporate Council on Africa's
U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Mozambique. USAID
hosts a small initiative secretariat, led by a USAID Acting
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