Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Akunna Cook and Prosper Africa Acting Chief Operating Officer Leslie Marbury will travel to Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Namibia on a State Department Prosper Africa economic diplomacy visit, February 14 – March 1. The delegation will meet with entrepreneurs, women-owned and small and medium-sized enterprises, investors, and policy-makers to drive U.S. trade and investment in Africa's creative industries, ICT and digital technologies, and energy and infrastructure, among other fast-growing sectors.
Last November, Secretary Antony Blinken traveled to the continent signaling the United States' commitment to strengthen economic, social, and political ties with our partners in Africa. The delegation will advance this commitment by connecting businesses and investors with Prosper Africa tools and resources to remove trade and investment barriers, drive transactions forward, and promote market opportunities.
This is the first in a series of economic diplomacy visits the State Department will undertake to advance U.S. trade and investment with Africa as part of the whole-of-government Prosper Africa initiative. By working hand-in-hand with the private sector and our African partners, the U.S. government is driving investment in African innovation, opportunity, and creative solutions to the world's most pressing problems.
