Demography is destiny. That’s the biggest takeaway for a delegation of institutional investors that recently visited Nigeria. The trip was made possible with support from the United States government through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in Nigeria and U.S. government Prosper Africa and Power Africa initiatives. “One of the main things we saw on the trip was how fast the country is growing and how young the country was. That’s going to require a lot of infrastructure – from power and energy to roads and water,” says Mohamed Balla, Chief Financial Officer for the ..read more

AGOA Forum Offers An Opportunity to Chart a Way Forward in Boosting AGOA Exports  This week, leaders from the U.S. and African governments, private sector, and civil society will gather from November 2-4, for the 20th U.S.-sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa, to discuss a forward vision for deepening trade and investment ties between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa while boosting exports under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).  This year’s AGOA Forum comes at a pivotal time as AGOA, a cornerstone of the United St ..read more

As one of the fastest growing economies in Africa, Botswana’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.1 percent in 2022,  the IMF estimated. The diamond industry is driving most of its growth, contributing over 90% of total exports. The southern African country is the world’s second-largest diamond producer, and while diamond exports declined during the pandemic, the sector experienced steady growth in 2022, a trend expected to continue in the coming years. Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Botswana is an eligible country for duty-free access to the U.S. market for almos ..read more

This is the introductory piece of a blog series focusing on debunking misconceptions about African investments. Follow this series as we navigate through our Prosper Africa delegations’ journeys, spotlighting Africa’s remarkable investment potential. The Africa continent is home to the world’s largest free trade area, growing economies, and an increasingly young, urban, and digitally connected population. The continent offers tremendous investment opportunities, yet persistent misconceptions and information gaps about investing in Africa often overshadow its potential, posing a roadblock to po ..read more

The U.S. Government’s Prosper Africa is convening a delegation of U.S. Government officials and American companies to FAME Week Africa, a premiere pan-African event promoting arts, film, television, animation, music, fashion, and media across the continent, from September 4-6 in Cape Town, South Africa. The three-day event will showcase the role of creative industries in advancing sustainable and inclusive growth in Africa. The U.S. delegation will help to connect U.S. and international film distributors with African producers and distributors for networking and business opportunities. Prosper ..read more

Prosper Africa is pleased to announce four new partnerships with African asset fund managers under the Prosper Africa Catalytic Investment Facility that will mobilize over $200 million in private capital to fuel African innovation and entrepreneurship.  The Prosper Africa Catalytic Investment Facility provides financing to African asset managers and financial vehicles that have a pipeline of growth-oriented businesses. This portfolio approach deepens the reach and catalyzes greater investment in entrepreneurs and small businesses that are advancing solutions to global challenges, includin ..read more

Entrepreneur Mounir Nakhla didn’t start off his career with the goal of building the largest digital finance platform in Egypt, yet in a country where 65 million are reliant on cash and one-third are unbanked, he found himself driven to solve real problems that improve people’s lives today.  With roots in microfinance and the environment, Mr. Nakhla started MNT-Halan, a fintech company that has transformed into a market leader in the fast-growing and highly untapped consumer finance and microfinance sectors in Egypt. During a recent Prosper Africa institutional investor delegation visit t ..read more

Few people get excited talking about blood tests, but for Nancy Fahmy, her dual passion for blood draws and delivering attractive returns for a leading Egyptian consumer healthcare company, is infectious. During a recent Prosper Africa institutional investor delegation visit to Cairo, Egypt, Ms. Fahmy, investor relations director for Cairo-based Integrated Diagnostics Holdings (IDH), introduced investors to Mega Lab, Egypt’s largest automated lab and one of the region’s key providers of diagnostic services.  IDH has developed an innovative “hub, spoke, and spike” network of branch laborat ..read more

Game-changing solutions all begin the same way—as a promising new idea to solve a complex problem. For cousins and co-founders Thato Schermer and Dr. Nonie Sitole, solving problems in women’s health has always been a family passion. Their grandmother was a midwife, and Dr. Sitole’s mother was South Africa’s first Black female obstetrician-gynecologist. “Hearing [my aunt’s] experiences around what she’s seen and the access—and lack of access—to healthcare fascinated me,” says Schermer. “I became really interested in how we look beyond one doctor serving one patient and look to solving these pro ..read more

Ahmed Ben Achballah grew up working on his family farm during the summertime. Today, he knows that dairy farmers can make their cows more productive if they track their health and reproductive cycles closely. But Achballah’s family didn’t do that, and neither do most small dairy farmers in Tunisia. “With the farmers we work with right now, they may keep track in their head. They may look for signs that a cow is ready to inseminate. Or maybe when the inseminator or the vet comes, they write a couple words with chalk on the wall in front of the cow.” Because farmers do not keep good records, the ..read more