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WASHINGTON – Last Friday, a delegation of U.S. government officials that included representatives from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) concluded a successful visit to the U.S.-Africa Business Summit. The Summit was hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) in Marrakech, Morocco, and it brought together more than one thousand public and private sector stakeholders

Alice Albright, CEO of Millennium Challenge Corporation, led the U.S. delegation alongside U.S. Trade and Development Agency Director Enoh Ebong, senior EXIM officials, and U.S. government representatives from Prosper Africa and Power Africa.

The EXIM delegation, led by Deputy Chief of Staff Hazeen Ashby, included Acting Senior Vice President of the Office of Small Business, Tamara Maxwell and Director of Africa, Rick Angiuoni. EXIM officials joined interagency colleagues to present a whole-of-government strategy for deepening sustainable U.S. commercial partnerships across African nations.

Especially important in this strategy are Prosper Africa, a U.S. initiative that leverages the resources of 17 U.S. government agencies to increase trade and investment between the U.S. and Africa, and President Biden’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, a new initiative that will mobilize $600 billion from G7 countries to meet the infrastructure needs of developing economies in Africa and around the world.

On the third day of the conference, Ashby and Maxwell participated in “Women as Investment Champions: Delivering African Infrastructure Solutions,” a lunch discussion hosted by USTDA Director Ebong. The two leaders provided an overview of EXIM’s expertise in helping small businesses grow their sales to new markets. They also discussed EXIM’s work to bring greater inclusiveness and equity to the agency’s programs through new efforts like the Council on Small Business, the Council on Advancing Women in Business, and EXIM’s Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee. These convenings, alongside ongoing modernization efforts, will help bring new voices and fresh ideas to the table for America’s exporters.

The same day, Angiuoni spoke on a panel called “Prosper Africa: Investing in Africa’s Future.” During the panel, Angiuoni emphasized EXIM’s long history of supporting trade between the U.S. and Africa as well as the agency’s commitment to increasing exports throughout the continent. He highlighted key tools like EXIM’s China and Transformational Exports Program that open new financing tools for U.S. companies and African buyers.

Throughout the summit, the EXIM team also held productive bilateral discussions with public and private stakeholders and hosted an informational booth to generate awareness about EXIM’s financing tools and capabilities.

ABOUT EXIM:

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is the nation’s official export credit agency with the mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating U.S. exports. To advance American competitiveness and assist U.S. businesses as they compete for global sales, EXIM offers financing including export credit insurance, working capital guarantees, loan guarantees, and direct loans. As an independent federal agency, EXIM contributes to U.S. economic growth by supporting tens of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of U.S. debt. Learn more at www.exim.gov.