WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris announces the formation of a new partnership to help provide internet access to 80% of Africa by 2030, up from about 40% currently.
Friday’s announcement follows Harris’ visit to the continent last year, in conjunction with this week’s visit to Washington by Kenyan President William Ruto. Harris and the Kenyan leader were scheduled to have a conversation Friday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about how public-private partnerships can increase economic growth.
A preview of Harris’ initiatives obtained by the Associated Press outlines how she intends to fulfill commitments she made to promote digital innovation when she visited Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia.
Africa has struggled to receive the capital needed to build its industrial and technological sectors. The United Nations reported last year that foreign direct investment on the continent fell to $45 billion in 2022, from a record $80 billion in 2021. Africa accounted for just 3.5% of foreign direct investment across the entire continent. the world, although it represents around 18% of foreign direct investment on the continent. the world population.
In addition to launching the nonprofit Africa Digital Access Partnership to improve internet access, Harris, a Democrat, is announcing a new initiative aimed at giving 100 million African people and businesses in the agricultural sector access to the digital economy. .
The African Development Bank Group, together with Mastercard, among other organizations, will help form the Digital Economy Access Mobilization Alliance, or MADE. The alliance will begin a pilot program to give digital access to 3 million farmers in Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria, before expanding elsewhere.
Harris, the first female vice president of the US, also announces that Women in the Digital Economy’s efforts to address the gender divide in access to technology have now generated more than a billion dollars in public and private commitments, with some commitments from the US pending congressional approval.
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