Browsing: U.S Agency for International Development (USAID)

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This week, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power helped to kick off the Prosper Africa Build Together Campaign at the Corporate Council on Africa’s U.S.-Africa Business Summit. As announced by Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council Senior Director for Africa Dana L. Banks and reinforced by Department of Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo, the campaign is a targeted effort to elevate and energize the United States’ commitment to trade and investment with countries across the African continent under the Biden-Harris Administration.

USAID will play a leading role in the Prosper Africa Build Together Campaign, joining 17 U.S. Government agencies—and working hand-in-hand with the private sector, African governments, and multilateral organizations—to bolster trade and investment in key sectors such as clean energy and climate smart solutions, health, and digital technology. Through this next chapter of the Prosper Africa initiative, USAID is committed to driving billions …

Awash Bank, USAID to help small Agribusinesses in Ethiopia

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Awash Bank announced a new partnership of $6.4 million to finance microfinance institutions and small- and medium-sized agricultural businesses in Ethiopia.

Under a USAID Development Credit Authority (DCA) agreement, the program will expand commercial bank lending into underserved areas in Ethiopia. It will also provide private finance needed to help farmers and businesses increase production, as well as support Ethiopia’s efforts to modernize the agricultural sector.

Through private capital sources, local microfinance institutions are able to expand lending to individuals and small businesses, mostly smallholder farmers and Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) clients. This partnership will also support Awash Bank’s direct lending to SMEs in the agriculture sector, where access to credit remains low despite contributing 34 per cent of Ethiopia’s GDP and employing about 70 per cent of the total labour workforce.

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