Prosper Africa, a US government national security initiative, has announced the launch of Africa Trade Desk, a platform to link African agricultural producers and suppliers with large US food retailers.
- According to Prosper Africa, the Africa Trade Desk will initially focus on speciality food products such as citrous, seafood, herbs and vegetables.
- In addition to overseas marketing and securing supply orders, it will also provide financing for bulk orders.
- The Africa Trade Desk is part of a broader strategy to boost trade between the US and African countries with the looming expiry of the AGOA trade initiative.
“The Africa Trade Desk, a public-private partnership between Prosper Africa and Afritex Ventures, is set to facilitate at least $300 million in export sales between Africa and the United States within the next 18 months,” Prosper Africa said in a statement.
The platform will create a supply chain between suppliers on the African continent and buyers in the US, consolidating among other aspects, logistics, insurance and traceability.
“We’ve found that African producers are eager to sell to the U.S. market, but often lack access to networks of U.S. buyers,” Isobel Coleman, Deputy Administrator of USAID, said in a speech, “And U.S. retailers like Shopify, Sam’s Club, Walmart, and Whole Foods are eager to carry a diverse supply of products from across Africa, but similarly lack established connections. The Africa Trade Desk addresses this problem.”
The signature African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which was created in 2000 and renewed in 2015, will expire in 2025. It allows for tariff-free, preferential access of up to 6,900 products from 35 countries to the American market. It has been up for discussions about amendments and renewal, with African states pushing for a ten-year extension.
The Africa Trade Desk is also part of a broader strategy by Washington to counter China’s influence through investments on the African continent. In 2022, the US committed $55bn to the continent over three years. By December 2023, it had delivered more than 40% of the commitment and signed 547 trade and investment deals worth $14bn, according to Judd Devermont, the US National Security Council senior director for African Affairs.
