Last week, Secretary of State John Kerry represented the United States at the African Union’s 50th Anniversary Summit. It presented him with a unique opportunity to address the changing relationship between the United States and Africa in a very public setting, and his speeches during the trip represent a significant shift in priorities – a shift that the Obama administration has been working on since 2009.

 

During his press conference with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Adhanom Tedros, Secretary Kerry argued that US priorities in Africa should be reconsidered, in order to put economic development and commercial ties at the center of the relationship, over and above the sometimes flashier issues of security, governance, and human rights. Minister Tedros echoed this sentiment, stating that “the economics should be the focus, especially in our future relationships.”

 

Revamping the focus of US-Africa relations reflects the increasingly popular idea that a holistic approach, rather than a laundry list of policy objectives, better serves the long term interests of the US as well as those of our partner countries.

Last week, Secretary of State John Kerry represented the United States at the African Union’s 50th Anniversary Summit. It presented him with a unique opportunity to address the changing relationship between the United States and Africa in a very public setting, and his speeches during the trip represent a significant shift in priorities – a shift that the Obama administration has been working on since 2009.

 

During his press conference with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Adhanom Tedros, Secretary Kerry argued that US priorities in Africa should be reconsidered, in order to put economic development and commercial ties at the center of the relationship, over and above the sometimes flashier issues of security, governance, and human rights. Minister Tedros echoed this sentiment, stating that “the economics should be the focus, especially in our future relationships.”

 

Revamping the focus of US-Africa relations reflects the increasingly popular idea that a holistic approach, rather than a laundry list of policy objectives, better serves the long term interests of the US as well as those of our partner countries. A focus on economic development as a guiding principle will have positive spillover effects on other areas of governance: a strong commercial relationship will require greater regional stability to keep markets and supply chains open, transparency and strong rule of law so multinationals operate responsibly and investors feel safe trusting their capital to new markets, and, last but not least, a respect for individual and human rights. 

 

Secretary Kerry’s visit is only the latest iteration of an effort to reorient US policy that has been years in the making. Six months after taking office in 2009, President Obama visited Sub-Saharan Africa to give a series of speeches addressing Africa’s growing role in an increasingly interconnected world. By 2010, this vision had been reinforced in the President’s National Security Strategy, which calls for strengthening partnerships with African nations, particularly in the area of private sector ties. And in June of 2012, the White House released a new strategy document which further developed this shift, stating “America believes in Africa as a region of growing opportunity and promise, for Africa, for America, and for our people and our economies. We believe that Africa can be the world’s next major economic success story.”

 

While the US government has shown itself to be increasingly committed to this new perspective, the private sector has been more reluctant to engage in the new and largely untested African markets. According to a 2010 study by HSBC, only seven percent of the revenues of US multinationals were generated in emerging markets. African markets make up an even smaller percentage of that, even as the continent’s growth outpaces that of much of the rest of the world. In fact, less than three percent of US global trade volume is with Africa, and the post-crisis trends have been downward since its 2008 peak.

To counteract that trend, the US government has launched a series of initiatives to help American business enter these markets. In November of 2012, the US Department of Commerce launched its “Doing Business in Africa” program to provide information and assistance to US companies looking to expand into the region. In addition, the office of the US Trade Representative has sent specialists to help countries better utilize benefits they are eligible for under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA, a trade deal that grants Sub-Saharan Africa trade preferences to the US market in order to spur economic growth. Finally, the White House has tasked specialized agencies such as the International Trade Administration and Minority Business Development Agency with facilitating greater US-Africa trade.

 

The government can nudge business in the right direction, but ultimately the future of US-Africa trade is in the hands of the private sector. The opportunities of the market speak for themselves – Sub-Saharan Africa includes six of the top ten fastest growing economies in the world. The region is home to the youngest population in the world, with sixty percent under the age of thirty.  That means that by 2050, more than a quarter of the global workforce will be in Africa. 

 

US business should take care not to be left behind. The so-called BRIC nations have an early lead in making the investments to be long-term commercial partners with an economically rising Africa, with Brazil and China being especially active. US investment is, as everywhere, held in high esteem and is very much desired in the region – but, nonetheless, if US businesses want to take full advantage of the opportunities, they will have to move quickly.