Congratulations to @POTUS. Joining my voice to other Africans at home and in the Diaspora who hope for a better, more substantive engagement. We're rooting for you and hope you can achieve your agenda - both for the American people and for the world. THREAD
In his prepared remarks for his committee hearing @ABlinken promised "engage the world not as it was, but as it is.” WE will hold you to that. US Africa policy should, in intent and practice, seek mutual prosperity between Africa and America. 1/
The world as it is recognizes that Africans have interests that are unique and separate from any Great Power competition. We want partners in fulfilling aspirations for ourselves & our children. Finding fulfillment in our homeland. That our culture, economy, societies can thrive.
The message that China’s rise is an existential threat has limited resonance in Africa. Across Africa, there are verifiable markers of prosperity and economic advances that are directly linked to China’s rise. US policy that only sees Africa through a "China" narrative will fail.
My hope is that US policy will focus on American strengths, beginning with the Diaspora. All across the US government and your own administration are sons and daughters of the African Diaspora - both recent, voluntary arrivals and earlier forcibly transferred. Leverage that. 4/
Build on the Trump administration’s focus on commerce with the goal of doubling two-way trade between the US and Africa. US Africa policy inordinately influenced security and aid has been and remains inadequate for the world "as it is". 5/
According to Victoria Whitney, “Since June 2019, @ProsperAfricaUS has directly supported more than 280 deals to close across more than 30 African countries for a total value of over $22 billion." Scale this up - take on risks that purely private capital would avoid. 6/
Ms Whitney noted that the @DFCgov has invested $8 billion across more than 300 projects in Africa (with a focus on SMEs) and that the @EximBankUS has an additional $8 billion in deals on the books for Africa. Can't stress this enough -more of this. A lot more of this. 7/
There is a massive unfulfilled need for high quality education, a sector where the US is a world leader. Carnegie Mellon University now has an Africa campus @cmu_africa in Rwanda offering master’s degrees in information technology and in electrical and computer engineering. 8/
Why is this important. An IFC/Google report on the internet GDP in Africa shows that sector will be worth about $180 billion by 2025. Startlingly more than a half of Africa’s developers are either self-taught or pay for online school programs. There is a real unfulfilled need. 9/
US policy can provided targeted support to encourage US universities to open more Africa campuses, especially HBCUs. Imagine @HowardU Accra campus @SpelmanCollege Mombasa campus, @Morehouse Abidjan campus. @MorganStateU has already started. Support this. 10/
The rise of Africa’s creative space & cross-continent collaboration between US and African artists have blossomed without intentional US policy support. That needs to change. The creative space carries promise for creating jobs across the continent & a market for US content. 11/
Do work with others. “America First” in an interconnected world was always a losing proposition. Co-finance, jointly-finance projects with Europe, Japan, South Korea, Canada and India for large-scale infrastructure projects as @MCCgov did with the @EIB and @KfW_int in Liberia 12/
Finally, find a balance between US inclination toward a bilateral trade model and Africa’s expressed intent of creating a single multilateral economic bloc. Create a succession economic framework to #AGOA that supports the #AfCFTA 13/
As 54 individual units, we lack power and leverage as we engage continent-sized economies like the US, China, India or the EU. If you support African prosperity in word, then show it in deed. Don't undermine the #AfCFTA and push the EU and China to refrain from doing. 14
Once again, congratulations @POTUS and good luck going forward. END
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