The USAID Africa Bureau has launched its fourth and final regional programme office on the African continent in Accra, as part of the Africa Trade and Investment (ATI) programme.
The opening of this office demonstrates the agency’s dedication to collaborating with private sector firms across Africa to enhance their business standing and position them as desirable trade and investment partners.
The new office, opened on Thursday, April 27, 2023, aligns with the objectives of Prosper Africa, a White House initiative aimed at increasing trade and investment between the United States and African nations.
The West Africa Regional Office, USAID’s Trade Team Lead, Patterson Brown, said at the launch that: “The USAID Africa Trade and Investment programme approach is not a one-size-fits-all. Because something that has worked in Tanzania or Zambia, does not mean it will be successful in Burkina Faso or Ghana”.
The programme aims to understand the local environment and design trade and investment opportunities based on that understanding. The initiative also draws from successful practices in other African countries.
Brinton Bohling, Managing Director of African Operations for Prosper Africa, emphasised the importance of collaborating with USAID Regional Missions to improve on previous efforts with trade hubs.
He suggested that regional resources should be combined with central funding under the USAID Africa Trade and Investment programme to achieve the goals of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) through creative and synergistic collaboration.
ATI programme
The ATI programme, which began in September 2021, has created numerous job opportunities in Africa and the United States, produced billions in exports and investments, and facilitated private sector-driven solutions, all while promoting healthy business environments. The programme’s approach is sector-agnostic and continental, which represents a significant departure from USAID’s usual resource programming approach. Supply chains cut across regions and countries, and the private sector assesses market opportunities. The programme mimics the private sector’s approach and enables USAID to be more responsive to private sector needs than ever before.
The decision to situate the ATI programme in Ghana is strategic because the country has one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and trade accounts for 90 percent of its GDP. There are numerous opportunities to enhance the competitiveness of Ghanaian companies, particularly in the agri-food sector, which could create more jobs, decrease disparities, and increase household incomes.
In West Africa, the ATI programme is already active in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Niger, Ghana and Liberia. In Niger, the programme will strengthen the financial sector and enable farmers to access capital and inputs, addressing food security and resilience concerns. In Liberia, the ATI programme is fostering opportunities for collaboration that will expand the commercial agriculture sector, especially for women and youth, while also improving investment in the productivity and commercialisation of Liberian agribusinesses.
