DAWN: Kamala Harris Visit to Africa

DAWN

Vice President Kamala Harris Visits Africa ,March 2023 - March-April 2023

Publisher's Message

THE VISIT TO GHANA, Tanzania, and Zambia by USA Vice President Kamala Harris is truly historical given her connection to Africa and her being the first African American woman vice president of the United States of America to visit the continent.

To put into context the first African American President of the USA had roots in Kenya and now the first African American woman Vice President does have some vivid history in Zambia.

The seriousness of these connections by these prominent American leaders points to the significance that Africa still plays subliminally in the success of this most prosperous country on the planet.

As a culturally diverse continent, Africa and all its people should look into the future with significant confidence knowing full well that among them lie leaders for America and the continent. It is therefore important that Africa and its people invest in the long-term strategic relationship with the United States of America, it's ally and future Strategic partner.

WAKE UP AFRICA!

Ricky Katsuya

Kamala Harris at Zambia's Parliament Building as a little girl (L) and as U.S. Vice President in 2023

2 Publisher's Message

6 Kamala Harris Starts Africa Tour in Ghana, Announces Security Aid

8 Kamala Harris Visits Ghana 'Slave Castle,' says 'History Must be Learned '

10 Kamala Harris Announces Tanzania Trade Initiatives on Africa Tour

12 Kamala Harris Vows to Send Country Billions From US

15 Idris Elba, Black Sherif and Sheryl Lee Ralph Join Kamala Harris in Ghana

16 Vice President Harris Launches Global Initiatives on the Economic Empowerment of Women, Totaling over $1 Billion

About the Africa Business Association

The Africa Business Association is an independent international business development organization. We offer access to the latest resources, information, and best practices in advocacy and communications for the African Diaspora and the African entrepreneurs in Africa.

We work to help you have access to news and events as starting points for constructive conversations and calls to action. We seek to cut through the froth of the political spin cycle to underlying truths and values. We want to be so focused on progress that together we can provide a credible and constructive generation of Africans that take seriously our previous generations and act upon all their wishes, our hopes and aspirations to make lasting change for all future generations.

Africa Business Association "DAWN"

PUBLISHER/PRESIDENT

Ricky Katsuya

ADVISORY BOARD

Earl 'Skip' Cooper, II, CEO, Black Business Association

H.E. Kone L. Tanou, Ambassador

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Ricky Katsuya

LAYOUT/TYPESETTING

Lion Communications

AFRICA BUSINESS ASSOCIATION NEWS

6564 LOISDALE COURT, SUITE 600 Springfield, VA 22150 USA

1-240-467-6811

aba@africabisinessassociation.org

dawn@africabusinessassociation.org

www.africabusinessassociation.org

Copyright © 2022

by Africa Business Association News

All Rights Reserved.

The posting of stories, commentaries, reports, documents and links (embedded or otherwise) on this site does not in any way, shape or form, implied or otherwise, necessarily express or suggest endorsement or support of any of such posted material or parts therein.

Image credits: Cover-pinterest, Reuters, Blavity, Statehouse

Kamala Harris Starts Africa Tour in Ghana, Announces Security Aid

By Francis Kokoroko

THE UNITED STATES will provide $100 million to Ghana and four other West African countries to help them deal with violent extremism and instability, Vice President Kamala Harris said on Monday during a visit to Ghana.

Harris was in Accra at the start of a week-long, three-nation African tour, the latest in a series of visits by senior U.S. officials as Washington seeks to counter growing Chinese and Russian influence on the continent.

"President Biden and I have made clear the United States is strengthening our partnerships across the continent of Africa," she said during a joint news conference with Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo.

China has invested heavily in Africa in the last two decades, particularly in infrastructure, mining, timber and fishing, while Russian private military contractor Wagner Group is providing security assistance in several countries.

Akufo-Addo reiterated that he was concerned about Wagner's presence in West Africa.

"It raises the very real possibility ... that once again our continent is going to become the playground for great power conflict," he said, standing alongside Harris.

Several countries across West Africa and the Sahel region have been struggling to quell Islamist insurgencies that have caused humanitarian disasters and fuelled discontent -- contributing factors to military coups in Mali and Burkina Faso.

"We appreciate your leadership in response to recent democratic back-sliding in West Africa," Harris told Akufo-Addo.

"To help address the threats of violent extremism and instability, today I am pleased to announce $100 million in support of Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire and Togo," she said.

That is in addition to $139 million in bilateral assistance that the United States intends to provide to Ghana in the fiscal year 2024, according to Harris's office.

LGBT RIGHTS

Harris was asked during the news conference whether she would be promoting LGBT rights during her tour, including in Ghana where a bill that would severely restrict those rights is going through parliament.

"I have raised this issue," Harris said, adding that

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo in Accra, Ghana March 27, 2023. REUTERS/ Francis Kokoroko

U.S. Vice President

Kamala Harris addresses the press in Accra, Ghana March 27, 2023.

REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko

she felt very strongly about supporting freedom and equality for all people, and that LGBT rights were a human rights issue.

Ghana's draft bill would make it a crime to be gay, bisexual or transgender. Gay sex is already punishable by up to three years in prison under Ghanaian law, though no one has been prosecuted in years.

The new bill would lengthen jail terms and force people to undergo "conversion therapy", practices intended to change their sexual orientation. Parliament held public hearings on the bill starting in 2021. It is unclear when it will be put to a vote.

Akufo-Addo responded to a question about the bill from a U.S. reporter by saying that it was not official government policy but rather had been put forward by legislators acting in a private capacity.

He also said the country's attorney-general had submitted views to a parliamentary committee examining the bill about "the constitutionality or otherwise of several of its provisions".

"My understanding ... is that substantial elements of the bill have already been modified as a result of the intervention of the attorney-general," he said, without giving details.

"I have no doubt that the parliament of Ghana will show as it has done in the past ... its sensitivity to human rights issues as well as to the feelings of our population, and will come out with a responsible response to the proposed legislation."

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/usvice-president-harris-announce-139-mln-aidghana-2024-2023-03-27/

Video: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ harris-husband-draped-in-kente-cloth-in-ghana/viAA19c5tx

Vice President Kamala Harris at State Banquet in Ghana

Story by Kristopher Fraser

ACCOMPANIED BY Ghana’s president Nana

Akufo-Addo, Vice President Kamala Harris attended a state banquet at the Jubilee House in Accra, Ghana, on Monday, wearing an ethereal ensemble.

In honor of her diplomatic visit, the vice president wore a custom Monique Lhuillier white gown with a matching white statement cape with an image of a purple flower on her right shoulder. Harris accessorized her look with a gold sequin clutch bag.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestylebuzz/vice-president-kamala-harris-donscustom-monique-lhuillier-dress-at-statebanquet-in-ghana/ar-AA19bLPI

Kamala Harris Visits Ghana 'Slave Castle,' says 'History Mus

By Cooper Inveen

U.S. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS delivered a speech to thousands of young Ghanaians on Tuesday in Accra on women's empowerment, and toured a coastal building that was the last stop for Africans sold into the transatlantic slave trade.

Harris used the stop to promise American partnership, exhort African nations to do more for women, and to speak about the importance of learning difficult history, in an apparent reference to recent Republican push to strike some lessons from U.S. classrooms.

In a speech in front of Black Star Gate, a monument built on the site where Ghana declared independence from Britain in 1957, Harris said that by the middle of the century, one in four people in the world will be African.

"That of course means what happens on this continent impacts the entire world," she said.

Citing examples such as the pioneering of mobile phone payments in Kenya or healthcare deliveries by drone in Rwanda before such services existed in the United States, Harris said innovation would be key to Africa's future success.

"We must invest in the African ingenuity and

creativity, which will unlock incredible economic growth and opportunities, not only for the people of the 54 countries that make up this diverse continent, but for the American people and people around the world," she said.

Harris underlined deep gender disparities in Africa, saying the United States would work alongside African partners to close those gaps.

"On the continent of Africa we know women grow a majority of the food, yet they are less likely to own the land they farm. They represent a majority of frontline healthcare workers, but face disparities in health outcomes," she said.

"Women are entrepreneurs, yet have limited

U.S. Vice President Harris leaves bouquet at Cape Coast slave castle

Kamala Harris hoff are draped they meet with Kwesi Atta II an Emintsimadze March 28, 2023

access to capital and markets. They are peacemakers and bridge builders, yet continue to be under-represented at the table where decisions are made."

To cheers, she said that the economic empowerment of women would benefit not only themselves but also their children, families, communities and the entire economy.

The U.S. can also partner on digital inclusion and good governance and democracy, Harris said. She described the latter as "a work in progress, including in my own country", an apparent allusion to the turbulence seen in U.S. politics and elections in recent years.

TOUR OF SLAVE CASTLE

Later, Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, toured a 17th-century slave fortress in Cape Coast, one of many coastal buildings active during the transatlantic slave trade that forcibly removed 12.5 million people, mainly from Central and

West Africa, and sent them to work across the Americas, Europe and the Caribbean.

She appeared moved during the tour, taking several deep breaths, according to a pool reporter traveling with her. She laid flowers in the female slave dungeon and went through the so-called "Door of no Return" where slaves were shipped out. Emhoff wiped his eyes, according to the pool reporter.

"Being here was -- was immensely powerful and moving, when we think about how human beings were treated by the hundreds of thousands in this very place that we now stand, the crimes that happened here, the blood that was shed here," Harris said from Cape Coast Castle.

"They came to this place of horror -- some to die, many to starve and be tortured, women to be raped -- before they were then forcibly taken on a journey thousands of miles from their home to be sold by so-called merchants and taken to the Americas, to the Caribbean to be an enslaved people."

Harris said the horror of what had happened there must be remembered. "It cannot be denied. It must be taught. History must be learned," she said.

Republican-led states, including Florida, Georgia and Texas, have enacted new laws to limit teaching about the role of racism in the United States.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/kamalaharris-visits-ghana-slave-castle-says-history-must-belearned/ar-AA19dOAN

Image credits: Thomson Reuters

Cape Coast slave castle

and her husband Doug Emd in traditional kente cloth as the Oguaa chief Osabarimba nd community leaders, at the Palace in Cape Coast, Ghana 3 © Provided by Daily Mail

Kamala Harris Announces Tanzania Trade Initiatives on Africa Tour

By Aljazeera

Wednesday, March 29, 2023 [Ericky Boniphace/AP]

UNITED STATES VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS announced plans to boost trade with and investment in Tanzania during a visit there on Thursday, part of an African tour aimed at strengthening ties with a continent where the influence of China and Russia is on the rise.

The tour began on Sunday in Ghana before she flew late on Wednesday to Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam, where she met President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday. The two women gave short statements to the media before going into a longer session of private talks.

“Working together, it is our shared goal to increase economic investment in Tanzania and strengthen our economic ties,” Harris said, listing a number of initiatives.

They included a new memorandum of understanding between the Export-Import

Bank of the United States (EXIM) and the government of Tanzania.

That will facilitate up to $500m in financing to help US companies export goods and services to Tanzania in sectors including infrastructure, transportation, digital technology, climate and energy security and power generation.

Harris also mentioned a new partnership in 5G technology and cybersecurity, as well as a USsupported plan by LifeZone Metals to open a new processing plant in Tanzania for minerals that go into electric vehicle batteries.

“This project is an important and pioneering model, using innovative and low-emission standards. Importantly, raw minerals will soon be processed in Tanzania, by Tanzanians,” she said, adding that the plant would deliver battery-grade nickel to the US and the global market from 2026.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, third right, welcomed by Tanzania's Vice President Philip Mpango, second right, on their arrival at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam

(L) US Vice President Kamala Harris w STATE HOUSE

China has invested heavily in Africa in the last two decades, and last November, Hassan met China’s President Xi Jinping during a state visit to Beijing.

Trade and investment featured heavily on their agenda, with the leaders agreeing to “elevate twoway trade and further expand the trade volume” and China saying it would explore providing market access to more Tanzanian goods.

Political Rights

On Thursday, President Hassan said her “most important request” was to improve the visa process between the US and Tanzania, as both countries would benefit from a “long-duration visa” that would increase trade and tourism.

Under Hassan, Tanzania has returned to international engagement after a period of isolationism enforced by her predecessor John

People welcome U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on her arrival in Tanzania

Magufuli, who cancelled all his ministers’ foreign trips and discouraged travel.

She has won praise internationally for restoring political rights suspended by Magufuli, who died in office in 2021.

“Madam president, under your leadership Tanzania has taken important and meaningful steps and President Joe Biden and I applaud you,” Harris said, standing alongside Hassan.

Magufuli had banned political rallies by anyone other than elected officials, cracked down on Tanzania’s LGBT community and arrested dozens of opposition supporters. He had also rejected COVID-19 vaccines and urged Tanzanians to put faith in prayer and treatments such as steam inhalation.

Hassan reversed the policies upon coming to power and earlier this month, Tanzania passed the milestone of fully vaccinating 50% of its population against the coronavirus.

But human groups have said violations continue, including government targeting of online media outlets. Hassan’s education minister also banned a series of children’s books from schools last month for allegedly promoting homosexuality.

Harris, the latest of several high-profile figures from the US administration to visit African countries in recent months, is due to stay in Tanzania until Friday, when she will depart for Zambia, the final stop on her tour.

Both women first met in April 2022 when Harris hosted Hassan at the White House in Washington.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/30/ kamala-harris-announces-tanzania-tradeinitiatives-on-africa-tour

with Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

© AP photo Provided by Daily Mail

Kamala Harris Vows to Send Country Billions From US

By Andrea Cavallier for DailyMail.Com and WIRES

U.S. VICE PRESIDENT Kamala Harris has told China to cancel Zambia's debt as she vowed to send the country billions from the US.

The VP touched down at a $1bn airport in Lusaka on Thursday built by Beijing which serves as a reminder for the vast influence that China holds over the African state.

Harris said the government in Lusaka had put in place measures to strengthen its economy and should be supported with debt relief. She was speaking at the start of a two-day visit to Zambia on the last leg of her week-long tour of Africa.

The VP also took time to visit the site of her maternal grandfather's home in Lusaka, where he lived as an Indian public servant in the 1960s.

Zambia has been looking to restructure its debt

since becoming the first African country to default during the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2020. Its debts crept higher at the end of last year, figures published by the finance ministry this week showed. China is its largest bilateral creditor.

'We are continuing to reiterate our call on official bilateral creditors to provide meaningful debt reduction to Zambia,' Harris said at a press briefing when asked what the United States was doing to push China to restructure Zambia's debt.

Africa has emerged as a focus for Washington as it aims to position itself as a partner to countries in the region amid competition with China, which has sought to expand its influence by funding infrastructure projects on the continent.

Harris said her visit to Zambia was intended

Harris is greeted by Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema in Lusaka, Zambia, on Friday © AP Photo

US vice president Kamala Harris receives warm welcome to Zambia.

© AP Photo

to strengthen existing relations between the two countries and not to counter the Chinese presence in Africa.

'Let me be clear. Our presence here is not about China. It's about our independent understanding of intertwined histories of our nations,' said Harris, who also spoke warmly of visiting her grandfather while he was working in Zambia when she was a child.

Speaking at the same briefing, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said delays to debt restructuring were hurting the economic gains that Zambia had made.

Good relations with the United States did not preclude good relations with China and vice versa, he added.

'When I'm in Washington, I'm not against Beijing. Equally, when I'm in Bejing, I'm not against Washington,' he said.

When Harris arrived in Zambia on Friday, she touched down at an airport that´s doubled in size

and features glittering new terminals.

Rather than a symbol of promising local development, it's a reminder of China´s deep influence. Beijing financed the project, one of many that has expanded its footprint on a booming continent that's rich in natural resources, often generating goodwill among its citizens.

The global rivalry between the United States and China has been a recurring backdrop for Harris' journey, and nowhere has that been more apparent than Zambia and her previous stop in Tanzania.

Besides the airport, China built a 60,000-seat stadium in Lusaka, plus roads and bridges around the country. Zambia is on the hook for all of the development with billions of dollars in debt.

Tanzania is a major trading partner with China, and it has a new political leadership school funded by the Chinese Communist Party.

The developments have alarmed Washington, and President Joe Biden´s administration is worried that Africa is slipping further into Beijing´s

VP Harris and Emhoff visit an office building that records indicate is on the plot of land where the house used by her grandfather P. V. Gopalan when he was serving as a Indian Civil Servant Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

13

sphere of influence.

Harris has played down the issue on her trip, preferring to focus on building partnerships independent of geopolitical competition.

However, she has acknowledged there´s limited time for the U.S. to make inroads on the continent, telling reporters earlier in the trip that there is a 'window' that is 'definitely open now' for American investments.

The VP paused Friday during the whirlwind diplomatic swing for something much more personal: A visit to the site of her maternal grandfather´s home in Lusaka.

P.V. Gopalan was working with the newly independent Zambia government six decades ago on refugee resettlement and lived at 16 Independence Ave., where Harris visited as a little girl.

The home no longer exists; rather, an office building now stands on the plot of land. The location was identified using plot numbers in public records and land surveys, according to a White House official.

Harris on Friday said it was 'very special' to go back, and she described her grandfather as 'one of my favorite people' with a lasting influence on her life.

'He believed in the nobility of public service, he

US Vice President Kamala Harris (L) and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema (R) are seen at the State House in Lusaka on March 31, 2023 during a press conference AFP via Getty Images

believed in fighting corruption,' she said. 'These are things he would talk about a lot, and I don´t think until I was older I realized how that subconsciously influenced the way I think.'

Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Lusaka pored through public records, spoke with Zambian and Indian authorities, and reached out to former Zambian government officials to identify the precise location of Gopalan's home.

Harris' family members also offered memories about the home, which helped with the embassy's search, the White House official said.

The confirmation came just in time for Harris' weeklong trip to Africa; the U.S. embassy identified the location while Harris was in Ghana, the first stop of her visit to the continent, a few days ago.

The Zambian Ministry of Lands confirmed that 16 Independence Ave. was indeed Gopalan's home, through a March 9, 1967 public lands document.

As Harris toured the location, U.S. embassy official Elizabeth Norikane told the vice president that she had been searching for the precise spot for a year.

Zambia has celebrated Harris' childhood ties to the country. On the drive from the airport into the city, Harris was greeted by signs that read: 'Welcome back to Zambia.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ article-11925681/Kamala-Harris-tells-Chinacancel-debt-Zambia-vows-send-country-billionsUS.html

VP Harris in Zambia from page

IDRIS ELBA, BLACK SHERIF , Sheryl Lee

Ralph and other celebrities joined Vice President Kamala Harris in Ghana as she visited the Vibration studio at the freedom skate park in Accra, Ghana. Harris visited the community recording studio with the stars as part of her weeklong tour of Africa. The visit was a step towards highlighting the growth, talent and evolution of African creatives and the creative industry in Africa. Other notable figures who joined Harris on the tour included Baaba J, Ria Boss, and Moses Sumney.

In the past, British actor Elba, whose mother is Ghanaian, has been vocal about the West supporting and investing in African creatives. Earlier in March, he joined forces with Nigerian media mogul Mo Abudu to launch a joint film and TV venture that would support new projects from rising African talent in the continent and the diaspora.

While talking with the press, the “Luther” actor said that he and his wife first met Harris at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit last year.

“[Harris] said, ‘Hey, I really want to come to Africa. And we said we’d love to do that,’” Elba told

Idris Elba, Black Sherif and Sheryl Lee Ralph Join Kamala Harris in Ghana

By Sughnen Yongo

White House press reporters in Ghana, according to The Hill.

“If you ever go to Africa, let me know,” Elba said. “So here we are.”

The Golden Globe winner also mentioned that the creative talent pool in Africa is rich, and it was a good idea that Harris had visited.

“I think it’s a great signal for VP to come to Ghana, to come to Africa and be that interface to show the rest of the world that actually it is a fantastic place to sort of look at in terms of partnership and investment,” said Elba.

During the event, which gathered a crowd of creatives, Lee sang “Endangered Species,” after which she addressed the attendees.

“You must invest in yourself, in your art, first. And then you birth it out to the world,” Ralph said.

After her visit to Ghana, Harris will make a stop in Tanzania and then wrap up her African tour in Zambia.

https://www.okayafrica.com/celebrities-joinkamala-harris-in-ghana/

Image credit: Photo by Nipah Dennis.

Vice President Harris Launches Global Initiatives on the Eco Empowerment of Women, Totaling over $1 Billion

By PRESS RELEASE

PROMOTING GENDER EQUITY AND EQUALITY is a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy in Africa and around the world. Advancing the economic status of women and girls is not only a matter of human rights, justice, and fairness—it is also a strategic imperative that reduces poverty and promotes sustainable economic growth, increases access to education, improves health outcomes, advances political stability, and fosters democracy.

In particular, the digital gender gap undermines women’s full participation in the 21st century economy. Globally, approximately 260 million more men than women were using the internet in 2022— and this gap has increased by 20 million in the last three years. The gap is especially acute across Africa, where International Telecommunication Union data show that sixty-six percent of women do not use the internet.

To address this disparity, the Biden-Harris Administration will continue to work with other governments, private sector, foundations, and multilateral organizations to help close the digital divide, improve meaningful access to equitable digital finance and other online services, and address social norms that prevent women from participating fully in the digital economy. More broadly, the Biden-Harris Administration will continue to promote the economic empowerment of women.

In support of these goals, in Accra, Ghana, the Vice President is announcing a series of investments and initiatives—from the U.S. government, and in response to her call for investment from the private sector, and philanthropic community. The Vice President is also making a series of announcements on behalf of the Biden-Harris Administration to foster women’s political, economic, and social inclusion

in Africa, building upon initiatives launched at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in December 2022, including the Digital Transformation with Africa (DTA) Initiative.

» $60M to Launch the Women in the Digital Economy Fund: The U.S. Agency for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are announcing a new fund to accelerate closing the gender digital divide, with a combined investment of $60 million, at least half of which will focus on Africa.

» Nearly $400M in Private Sector Commitments to Support Closing the Gender Digital Divide: These commitments, totaling nearly $400 million, support the key pillars guiding the work of the U.S. government to close the Gender Digital Divide.

» $528M in Private Sector Commitments to Support of Women’s Economic Empowerment in Africa: These commitments, totaling over $528 million, support gender programming more broadly.

» $47M U.S. Government Initiatives to Advance Gender Equality Across Africa: These initiatives, totaling over $47 million, represent new announcements and initiatives on behalf of the Biden-Harris Administration to foster women’s political, economic, and social inclusion in Africa, building upon initiatives launched at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in December 2022.

WOMEN IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY FUND

The U.S. Agency for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are announcing the Women in the Digital Economy Fund, a joint effort toward closing the gender digital divide. USAID will commit $50 million and

the Gates Foundation will commit $10 million respectively by 2026, with at least half of these resources focused on Africa.

This new Fund will accelerate progress to close the gender digital divide by scaling evidencebased, proven solutions that improve women’s livelihoods, economic security, and resilience. The Fund will support programs that advance digital access and affordability; develop relevant products and tools; provide digital literacy and skills training; promote online safety and security; and invest in gender-disaggregated data and research.

USAID will mobilize its commitment to this effort, subject to the availability of funds, alongside additional U.S. government initiatives focused on advancing gender equality and digital connectivity in Africa as part of the DTA.

ADDITIONAL PRIVATE SECTOR AND PHILANTHROPIC COMMITMENTS TO SUPPORT CLOSING THE GENDER DIGITAL DIVIDE

The Vice President is announcing nearly $400 million in private sector and philanthropic commitments, made in response to the Vice President’s call to support the key pillars of the Women in the Digital Economy Fund:

»The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed to invest, in addition to its commitment to the Women in the Digital Economy Fund, $40 million toward closing the digital gender divide in Africa and South Asia.

» Delphos International, Ltd., a financial advisory firm , has committed to mobilize $250 million by 2027 to advance women’s economic security across Africa, including $100 million for projects to advance digital gender equality and women’s clean energy contributions, such as through products particularly benefitting women customers or supporting women-led

enterprises.

» InfraCredit has committed to provide local currency guarantees to unlock up to $68.6 million of domestic debt capital, with the support of development partners, in order to finance private sector enterprises providing solar powered mobile network access to unserved and underserved areas across Nigeria. It will deploy up to 2,000 rural mobile network stations, which will generate up to 1 million jobs by 2030. This is expected to increase the digital connectivity of up to 4 million women across Nigeria by 2030.

» Vista Bank and Cybastion Institute of Technology have committed to invest $20 million to build a gender-diverse cybersecurity workforce in Francophone Africa by providing digital technology and cyber security training and certifications to at least 100,000 women by 2026 from low-income and under-represented communities in Francophone Africa through the Vista-Cybastion CyberWomen Immersion Program.

» Betacube, a technology consulting company, has committed to invest $15 million to support 80 African-led tech start-ups per year by 2025, of which half will be women-led. Through

see page 18

upcoming editions of its TechAfricanWomen program, Betacube will support African women entrepreneurs to launch strong tech startups, ready for market and investment, targeting 16 African countries in 2023, 32 African countries in 2024, and 50 African countries in 2025.

» Visa Foundation expects to support women’s participation in the digital economy with a $5 million commitment in grants and impact investments. Visa Foundation’s support would focus on increasing access to financial solutions and other services for women entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa, in order to drive equitable digital financial access as countries continue to digitize.

» CARE has committed $5 million to advance digital gender equality across Africa. This includes $3 million—as they aim to raise $2.5 million on top of $500,000 raised in seed funding—to expand the reach of the Digital CARE Package to 1 million people in Rwanda, Uganda, and across Africa by 2028, unlocking equitable access to the internet and all its benefits. CARE has committed $2 million to provide 30,000 women members of village savings and loans associations across Tanzania with access to “Chomoka” digital platforms that enable them to build digital

identities and access digital financial services.

» The International Trade Center has committed to invest $3 million by 2025 to enable over 5,000 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) led by women across Africa to improve their competitiveness in digital trade, and 3,000 MSMEs led by women to transact international business using digital means.

» Yeleen Enterprises, a social impact company, has committed to invest $300,000 to pilot a digital payments program for its African shea butter suppliers, equipping at least 100 women suppliers in Ghana with cell phones and onboarding them to digital payments systems to receive mobile money transfers by the end of 2025. The program will expand to Chad, Mali, Morocco, Senegal, South Sudan, and Uganda within the next 10 years.

»The Pfizer Foundation has committed an additional $100,000 to support Living Goods in Kenya to use digital technology to empower frontline community health workers—with women at the center, as both healthcare providers and recipients of care. Living Goods’ Smart Health app equips community health workers to deliver on-demand, life-saving care to families in need—treating sick children, supporting pregnant mothers, counseling women on modern family planning choices, educating families on better health, and delivering high-impact medicines. In addition, Pfizer has committed to develop a “Women Living with Cancer in Africa” app, which will be free for users to help reduce the stigma and increase women’s ability to learn about cancers, treatments, and ultimately living with cancer.

» Microsoft Corporation has committed to train and certify at least 1 million women

1 Billion in Global Initiatives from page 17

across Africa by June 2025 through its Skills for Jobs program. To achieve this goal, Microsoft Corporation and the International Labor Organization have committed, through the Women in Business partnership, to reach 30,000 women globally–with an initial focus on Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa–with in-demand digital skills training, business coaching and mentorship, and stipend funding to pursue jobs and livelihood opportunities in the digital economy. In addition, Microsoft Corporation, together with Africa Tikkun, a South African non-profit organization, have committed to provide cybersecurity training and employment support to over 3,000 young jobseekers in South Africa, the majority of whom will be women.

» Microsoft Corporation has committed to integrate gender equality programming across its Airband partnerships globally, including in Africa, with the aim of training and empowering women entrepreneurs and increasing women’s opportunities for employment and trade using connectivity and access to affordable devices. This will include, for example, Liquid Intelligent Technologies and ViaSat joining with Microsoft to invest in gender equity programming in their ongoing effort to provide internet access to 25 million underserved people across Africa by the end of 2025.

»Towards the Microsoft Corporation’s commitment to catalyze internet access for 100 million people in Africa, Microsoft Corporation and Mawingu Networks have committed to expand their partnership in Kenya and enter new markets in Tanzania and Uganda, in order to provide internet access for 20 million underserved people by the end of 2025. The project will prioritize connectivity for women entrepreneurs and will include additional programs to advance digital gender equality.

» Mastercard has committed to register

30 million people to its Community Pass platform by 2027, with a focus on registering 15 million people across Africa, including women in underserved and remote communities, increasing their access to digital commerce, agricultural markets, healthcare services, and humanitarian benefits, by providing digital identities and a digital acceptance network. Recognizing that across Africa, women smallholder farmers systematically produce less output than their male counterparts because they have less access to inputs, credit, and other critical services, Community Pass connects these farmers to service providers to help make farming a more sustainable livelihood.

» HP has committed to accelerate digital equity for 2.5 million people in Africa in 2023, with a focus on those most likely to experience the digital divide, including women and girls, people with disabilities and aging populations, historically excluded and marginalized groups, and teachers and healthcare practitioners. This commitment will include help for three South African nonprofits to scale their efforts to advance social and economic equality in their local communities through a Digital Equity Accelerator, which provides funding, hardware solutions, and capacity-building support.

» Procter & Gamble has made a commitment to increase its annual spend with womenowned businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa by 30 percent by the year 2025. This will build on P&G’s work with its partners to lead annual conferences and workshops across Africa focused on upskilling women-led businesses and equipping them with the right skills and strategies needed to become part of multinational’s supply chains.

»The World Economic Forum’s EDISON Alliance is committed to expanding its see page 20

1 Billion in Global Initiatives from page 19

Lighthouse Network—which aims to close the digital divide, particularly for women—by bringing on three new countries in Africa by the end of this year, to support its goal of improving the lives of 1 billion people through affordable access to digital services by 2025. This includes increased attention to addressing the barriers women face in accessing and using digital connectivity. Launched in 2022, with Bahrain, Bangladesh, and Rwanda, the Lighthouse Network provides a platform for countries to showcase success stories, facilitate peer to peer exchange, and crowd in the partners and resources needed to meet their national digital inclusion goals, including on digital gender equality.

» myAgro, a mobile layaway platform for agriculture, has committed to provide 500,000 West African women farmers by 2025 support in using mobile phones to access its digital savings tool in order to purchase seeds, fertilizers, and modern agricultural training. Through its platform, myAgro expects women farmers to invest $70 million in their farms, enabling them to double their food production and increase their agricultural income by 35%.

» Arizona State University’s Thunderbird

Schoolof Global Management, in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), has announced a five-year partnership to offer the Francis and Dionne Najafi100 Million Learners Global Initiative curriculum through the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE). The AWE program is currently implemented by 20 U.S. missions in sub-Saharan Africa, and ECA expects AWE to grow to an additional four African countries: Cameroon, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Somalia.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMITMENTS TO SUPPORT WOME N’S ECONOMIC SECURITY IN AFRICA

To build upon support for the Women in the Digital Economy Fund, and in response to the Vice President’s call to promote women’s economic security across Africa, the following five companies and organizations collectively announced $528 million in major new commitments today:•

» The Tony Elumelu Foundation has announced its $500 million Coalition for African Entrepreneurs to support 100,000 young African entrepreneurs, including 50,000 women, by 2033, focusing on fragile states, women’s entrepreneurship, and green entrepreneurship. The Coalition is open to development agencies, the private sector, philanthropic organizations and governments to collaborate in empowering Africa’s next generation.

» Kuramo Capital Management, an investment management firm, in collaboration with The Ford Foundation and 2X Global, has committed to invest $140 million in capital by 2028 to catalyze the growth of women-led and owned private equity and venture capita funds and deliver up to $5 million in in-kind services to 25 women fund managers by that date, thereby facilitating increased investment in women entrepreneurs across sub-Saharan Africa

» Vista Bank Group has committed to invest $100 million in gender-smart financing structures to grow women-led enterprises in 25 countries in Africa by 2025.

»The African Women Impact Fund Initiative (AWIF), supported by the Standard Bank Group , has received an additional commitment of $25 million towards its stated target of mobilizing $1 billion by 2030. Launched in 2020, the Fund has already raised an initial commitment of $60 million. AWIF is driving an inclusive investment environment by directing resources to women fund managers to invest in

high-impact sectors and projects and close the financing gap for women across Africa. AWIF has identified the first cohort of 50 women fund managers across the continent that it will support and develop.

» CARE has committed $7.3 million to advance women’s economic security in Africa. This includes $6.8 million in Ghana to expand its partnership with the private sector in the cocoa value chain to benefit 3,000 producer communities by 2030 and to support the financial and economic empowerment of more than 50,000 women smallholder farmers in the northern and middle belts through CARE’s Women in Agriculture Platforms and Farmer Field Business Schools. In Zambia, CARE has committed $500,000 by 2025 to work with 2,000 Community Health Entrepreneurs – 75% of whom are women. Through LiveWell, a social business, community health workers will increase their economic security and will contribute to bridging gaps in health information and services for rural communities, reaching an estimated 500,000 people.

» Hello Tractor, Heifer International, and World Food Program Farm2market Alliance have committed to invest $3.2 million in Kenya to help 25,000 cattle farmers convert rice straw to feed for their livestock, mitigating challenges due to drought and climate change. They will also service an additional 60,000 small farmers growing on 90,000 acres – of which 30,000 will be women and 15,000 will be practicing conservation agriculture. This will include $1.5 million to finance tractors, rippers, and balers— half of which for women entrepreneurs.

U.S. GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES TO ADVANCE GENDER EQUALITY ACROSS AFRICA

The Biden-Harris Administration is also making an additional $47 million in commitments in

Africa to foster women’s economic participation, environmental stewardship, health, and freedom from gender-based violence, building on initiatives launched at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit.

Economic Participation

» Supporting Women Entrepreneurs through Digital Finance. In Lesotho, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is partnering with the World Bank to launch the Digital Innovation to Improve Access to Finance for Women Entrepreneurs initiative, working with local financial institutions to pilot genderresponsive digital finance products for small business owners. By reducing the reliance on fixed-asset collateral, the pilots will address a key constraint for female business owners. The most effective products will be scaled up as part of a $25 million investment in women entrepreneurs through the Health and Horticulture Compact, signed by MCC and the Government of Lesotho in 2022.

» Promoting Women’s Land Rights. MCC announced the Government of Morocco’s December 2022 establishment of the Centre d’Inclusion des Femmes au Foncier (CIFF) Center for Women’s Inclusion in Land Rights, which was developed with support from MCC’s Morocco Employability and Land Compact, including an investment of $1 million for the Center. This Center will collect and disseminate data on land and women’s land use, support women to exercise their land

see page 22

1 Billion in Global Initiatives from page 21

rights, and strengthen land policy. Women comprise nearly half (41%) of title holders of land titled through the compact to date, in contrast to the roughly 1% that would have been eligible without claiming their inheritance rights.

» Advancing African Women’s Trade and Investment. USAID is committing $2 million in Gender Equity and Equality Action (GEEA) Fund resources to partner with agro-processing and garment firms in Kenya through the Imarisha Women’s Initiative, which helps women advance in their careers, improve their skill sets, and increase their income while creating more flexible and supportive workplaces. Part of the Africa Trade and Investment program, USAID’s signature effort to support the Prosper Africa initiative, and in partnership with the African Women’s Trade and Investment Project, this program promotes women’s participation in leadership and management positions in trade-related industries and sectors across Africa.

» Promoting Women-Owned SMEs. USAID announced $3 million in GEEA Fund resources for Ethical Apparel Africa (EAA) to accelerate the export capabilities of nine apparel manufacturers—primarily women-owned— in Benin, Ghana and Togo, through factory training, market facilitation via the African Growth and Opportunity Act, finance facilitation, and export capacity development. Over the next year, EAA firms will book a minimum of $10 million export orders through USAID support. EAA has pre-selected five Ghanaian firms that they will support over this one-year engagement, each of which are women-owned and employ majority women.

» Supporting Women Farmers. The U.S.

International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has committed to loan $10 million to Kentegra Biotechnology to support the construction of a new facility to scale up production capacity of pale refined pyrethrum extract (PRE), a key ingredient in organic pesticides which is made from the pyrethrum flower sourced by Kentegra from Kenyan farmers. Kentegra currently works with 9,200 farmers—almost half of whom are women and Kentegra plans to increase the percentage of women it works with over the next five years —and DFC’s loan will provide women farmers with more predictable income, higher prices than alternative crop options, as well as training to implement best farming practices and financial planning tools to fully benefit from the increased incomes resulting from pyrethrum cultivation.

Environmental Stewardship

»Boosting Women’s Access to Electricity. USAID will invest $3 million in GEEA Fund resources to support the establishment of women-owned or managed cooperatives to expand electricity access across Zambia through the Zambia Electric Cooperatives Development Project. This project will address gender gaps in the energy sector and in sustainable electrification expansion by directly engaging rural households, particularly

women, in the ownership of their local electric service provider, and enhance the economic empowerment of rural women by delivering affordable energy-efficient services and technologies for entrepreneurial activities.

» Advancing Women’s Engagement in the Energy Sector. Drawing on funding previously announced during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), USAID will invest $1 million in GEEA Fund resources to advance gender equality through efficient energy use in East Africa by scaling up productive energy use projects, building communities of practice, and increasing women’s access to financing for efficient appliances. USAID will also advance women’s leadership in the rapidly evolving electric power sector by educating the next generation of science and engineering experts through curriculum development, internships and fellowships, and leadership and empowerment training. The initiative helps increase economic opportunities for women while increasing productive energy use in East Africa and globally and is training the next generation of women in the complex skills needed in the rapidly evolving power sector.

Health

» Promoting Adolescent Health and Wellbeing. The Peace Corps is investing

$750,000 per year for the next two years to expand its youth-related programming to tackle global health issues, including HIV prevention and care, malaria prevention and treatment, gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and economic empowerment. The program will run in a total of eighteen countries, the majority of which are in Africa, and will predominately serve adolescent girls and young women.

»USAID will invest $400,000 in its Youth Excel program in Tanzania, which educates adolescent boys and young men on positive gender norms, gender equitable and healthy relationships, economic productivity, and positive reproductive health for themselves and their partners through educational sessions delivered by positive male role models. The curriculum covers gender, violence prevention, addiction and alcohol abuse, soft skills, financial literacy, and puberty and reproductive health.

Gender-Based Violence

» Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Rural Communities. USAID is investing over $780,000 in GEEA Fund resources to address gender-based violence through the Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Environments (RISE) grants challenge. In Zambia, the RISE challenge will establish CommunityBased Fisheries Resources Management Committees, in which rural women will enhance their leadership, advocacy, and conflict management skills to address genderbased violence in the fisheries sector. In Kenya, the funds will support work to prevent gender-based violence and promote gender equality in conservancies.

https://allafrica.com/stories/202303290533.html

Image credits: taifadaily.com, newscentral.africa, newswind.co.uk

Agriculture - Business - Commentary

Development - Education - Governance

History - Investment - Lifestyle/Culture

- Technology/Science

"Awakening the African Giant Within"

The Africa Business Association (ABA) is pleased to invite you to be an integral part of our publication the DAWN - Awakening the African Giant Within. DAWN is a voice through which public and private entities and people share pertinent information and market business and investment opportunities in Africa and the African Diaspora. Gain access to these trillion dollar markets via ABA DAWN outreach and advertising opportunities.

• Outreach to Africa Business and Investment

• Outreach to Diaspora Business and Investment

• Advertorial/Feature story advertising

• Profiles

• Bid and Tender opportunities

Our readers are Diaspora Africans, African small business owners, African American Chambers of Commerce members, business owners, corporate buyers, prime contractor’s, importers-exporters, community organization members, elected officials and civic/social leaders in Africa and the United States. Don’t be left out. Advertise in this door opening publication. 1-240-467-6811