Rabat – Travis Adkins, CEO of the US African Development Foundation (USADF), has said that cooperation with Africa is among the core strategic goals of the Biden administration, and the central focus of the USADF.

Speaking with Morocco World News at the US-Africa Business Summit held in Marrakech, Adkins argued that there is a strong recognition in the US of “the critical importance” of Africa.

Because of the US’ “historic ties”with Africa and the continent’s bright future, he added, consolidating relations with America’s African allies remains a top priority for the Biden administration.

“Being descended from the African continent, I have even that much more incentive to make sure that we’re reconnected strongly and in ways that are mutually beneficial to the US and to Africa,” Adkins said.

The USADF is the only US government foreign assistance agency focused solely on Africa, prioritizing direct investments in smaller enterprises in the continent.

USADF’s investments focus on agriculture and renewable energy, as well as on regional issues such as food security, gender equality, and climate resilience.

The importance of small businesses

Carrying on a theme discussed heavily at the Marrakech summit, Adkins explained that the USADF considers small and medium businesses to be critical to African development.

“Small and medium enterprises even in the United States are the foundation of our economic success, and the same is true in Africa,” he told MWN. “Because for us the focus is the everyday people of Africa.”

These everyday people can achieve success by embracing an “entrepreneurial spirit,” Adkins said, arguing that African economies can grow as ordinary people grow their businesses to tackle their respective countries’ extremely high unemployment numbers without having to wait for the government.

“For us, regardless of COVID, or conflict, or climate, or coups even, our focus is on the African people,” Adkins added, noting that the goal is not only to give the African people enough to achieve sustenance, but also to have enough surplus to make plans for the future.

Small businesses were a core theme throughout the US-Africa summit, with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita emphasizing the urgency for African countries to embrace business-friendly financial reforms.

Also attending the Marrakech summit, entrepreneurs from Africa and beyond spoke of the importance of startups and small businesses to the continent.

Pressing challenges

Despite being home to vast potential and the recent rise of small businesses with ideas for change, Africa still faces many daunting challenges, Adkins explained.

Among the most significant challenges he listed are the COVID-19 pandemic, climate challenges, and government instability.

“That’s why earlier I mentioned COVID, conflict, climate, and coups, all as challenges to the stability of governments, to the safety of people,” he said, emphasizing that those are the reasons why the USADF’s actions in Africa are focused on small businesses.

He went on to emphasize that his agency continues to work with other American institutions such as the Department of State to address those structural issues.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has had a notable impact on investments and small businesses in Africa, the continent was suffering from a host of other systemic issues long before, argued many of the Marrakech summit’s attendees.

A lack of startup culture and history in the region still poses a big obstacle to entrepreneurs seeking to start their own small businesses, and the lack of existing startups to compare against also makes it harder to seek out foreign investors. Also standing in the way of entrepreneurship and investments is political instability.

Given the continent’s association with political instability, “Morocco Now,” the North African country’s investment brand, has been capitalizing on Morocco’s track record of safety and political stability to make the case that the country is an ideal destination for foreign investors.