USTDA Regional Brief - Sub-Saharan Africa

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) places a high priority on sub-Saharan Africa in supporting projects designed to facilitate economic development. In fact, one of the agency's first grants was signed in Tanzania in 1981. Since then, USTDA has invested over $90 million in the region, which have resulted in over $1 billion in U.S. exports associated with partnerships between African project sponsors and U.S. firms. The downstream impact of USTDA funding is expected to increase substantially as more projects move toward implementation. As the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) continues to raise interest in African private sector expansion, USTDA expects a continued demand for its specialized funding services in the region.

USTDA advances economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries. The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, early investment analysis, training, orientation visits and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment. USTDA's strategic use of foreign assistance funds to support sound investment policy and decision-making in host countries creates an enabling environment for trade, investment and sustainable economic development.

The following list describes some recent projects USTDA has supported in sub-Saharan Africa:

Regional

West Africa ICT Road Map to Opportunities Conference – USTDA is cosponsoring this ICT conference with the U.S. State Department and the Government of Ghana that will bring leading policy makers from West Africa together with U.S. companies and policy makers to discuss regional ICT issues. The conference will be held on July 8 – 10, 2008 in Accra, Ghana and is expected to be attended by senior West African leadership. The conference builds upon the successful sub-Saharan Africa Information and Technology Conference held in San Francisco, California in May 2007.

Telecommunications Training Program – In 2007, USTDA launched a regional sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Telecommunications Management Technical Assistance Training Program to provide specialized training to leaders in SSA focusing on regulatory frameworks, privatization challenges, and effective management skills in the ICT Sector. USTDA has provided $258,350 to sponsor twenty delegates from African countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Botswana and South Africa to participate in a two-part training program at the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI).

East African Community (EAC) Transportation Dialogue – USTDA, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation, will fund an orientation visit to the United States for trade, transportation, and infrastructure development ministers and senior officials from EAC countries to engage senior-level U.S. government policy officials, development assistance agencies, and U.S. private sector companies on transportation needs in East Africa. The program will be funded as part of USTDA's African Trade Lanes Partnership initiative. The EAC ministerial delegation is expected to visit Washington, DC in the fall of 2008 to discuss regional solutions to infrastructure challenges.

COMESA Aviation Technical Assessment – A $294,900 technical assistance grant to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa is supporting the definition of technical and professional capabilities in air traffic management in eight COMESA member states (Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Seychelles). It complements two similar USTDA-financed studies currently being developed with the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community. DORS Inc. was selected to provide the USTDA-funded assistance. The technical assessment was completed in April 2008 and the report is currently available in USTDA's library.

Angola

Sustainable Forestry and Wood Products Manufacturing – USTDA is partially funding a study to support investment analysis of a particleboard production facility that would be developed as part of a sustainable forestry project in Benguela Province, Angola. This study will focus on the redevelopment of 70,000 hectares of currently existing eucalyptus plantations in close proximity to the Benguela Railway, currently under reconstruction. The cost of the $525,916 study will be shared with Global Emerging Markets Forestry Investors (GEMF), a U.S. private-equity group that focuses on investment in sustainable forestry and related manufacturing facilities.

Botswana

Mmamabula Coal-Fired Power Plant – USTDA approved a $368,270 grant to fund financial advisory assistance to the Ministry of Minerals, Energy, and Water Resources. The purpose is to provide advice to the Ministry on the financial and economic viability of developing an export power station at the Mmamabula site. The assistance also includes providing strategic advice on how to develop a financing plan for the power plant. Delphos International was selected to carry out this technical assistance.

Burkina Faso

SOBFEL Fruit and Vegetable Processing Facility – USTDA is providing $151,521 for a study that will assist the fruit and vegetable exporter, La Société Burkinabé de Fruits et Légumes S.A. (SOBFEL) in Burkina Faso to improve its pest and pathogen treatment system, as well as to consider an investment in a fruit processing facility. The objective of this project will be to add more value to Burkina Faso's exports and to develop new export markets in the United States and elsewhere. The contractor is being chosen competitively.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Nzilo 2 Hydropower Plant – USTDA is providing $553,534 for a study to examine the viability of constructing the Nzilo 2 hydropower facility in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Implementation of the project would provide Katanga province with a reliable source of energy that would enable re-development of the mining industry in the region. The contractor will be chosen competitively.

Ghana

Ports of Tema & Takoradi Master Plans – A $698,150 grant to the Government of Ghana is funding an update and expansion of Master Plans for the Ports of Tema and Takoradi. New port developments at Tema and Takoradi are planned to serve multiple purposes, such as streamlining operations, managing increased container traffic, and facilitating the export and import of bulk goods. Halcrow HPA was competitively selected to carry out the technical assistance and work commenced in April 2008.

Liberia

Liberia Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant – USTDA is providing $531,500 to assess the feasibility of rehabilitating the hydropower facility at the Mt. Coffee location on the St. Paul River in Liberia. The study will identify optimum unit sizes and conduct technical, economic and financial analyses in order to prepare a bankable document that shall provide the Government of Liberia the basis to seek financing for the project either through international donors or through an international competitive Independent Power Producer (IPP) tender. Competitive selection of the contractor is in process.

Malawi

Implementation Plan for the Modernization of the Malawi Department of Civil Aviation – This $460,000 technical assistance grant is assisting the Malawi Ministry of Transport and Public Works in establishing an autonomous civil aviation authority with a supportive legal and regulatory framework and adequate institutional capabilities. The contractor will be chosen competitively.

Mauritius

Land-Based Ocean Industry – USTDA is funding a $375,000 technical assistance grant to the Board of Investment of Mauritius for the Land-Based Ocean Industry (LBOI) project. The assistance will give the Government of Mauritius the capability to support the development of an LBOI through the establishment of an appropriate regulatory framework and an action plan for supporting a range of downstream applications for the deep sea water resource. The contractor will be chosen competitively.

Mozambique

Airport Expansion and Modernization – A $444,806 grant aims to assist the Airports of Mozambique in determining the requirements of expanding and upgrading either the Nacala or Pemba airports. The study focuses on market forecasts and technical, financial and legal viability of the project. The project will provide important development impacts, including the transfer of advanced technology and training of airport staff, and will open new opportunities to U.S. suppliers. AAROTEC Infrastructure Group, Inc. was competitively selected to conduct the study.

Namibia

Independent Power Producer (IPP) and Investment Market Framework – USTDA has sponsored two technical assistance grants to the Namibian Electricity Control Board (ECB), the electricity regulatory body of Namibia. Under the first grant, USTDA provided $275,000 to fund Phase I technical assistance in the development of a formalized electricity market model that will facilitate investment by the private sector into Namibia's energy market. In Phase II, USTDA is providing $423,790 to facilitate the establishment of commercially viable IPP projects in Namibia by enabling ECB to perform the regulatory functions necessary for issuing licenses for IPP projects. CORE International was competitively selected to conduct Phase I and will perform the Phase II on a sole-source basis.

Nigeria

Polmaz Financial Structuring – USTDA is funding a $470,000 technical assistance initiative for the Nigerian oil services firm Polmaz. This project will help Polmaz to prepare for an ExIm Bank guaranteed loan to support the purchase of tug boats from the United States and will in turn create a model for a new trade finance product. This particular model transaction could later be replicated by future borrowers in Nigeria and elsewhere as it would allow a bank guarantee to be secured by a contract that a borrower has with a major company. Clifford Chance LLP was competitively selected to perform this technical assistance.

Senegal

Port Projects, Matam Phosphate Transportation – The Direction des Mines of the Senegalese Ministry of Energy and Mines is using a $313,840 grant to analyze the cost of various transportation alternatives for phosphate from the Matam phosphate deposits. The study of alternative transportation solutions will enable the Government of Senegal, as well as potential investors, to determine the economic viability of the Matam deposits. EESD, LLC was competitively selected to perform this study. The study was completed in April 2008 and the report is now available in USTDA's library.

South Africa

eThekwini Electricity Distribution Systems Integration – USTDA is providing a $500,000 grant to fund technical assistance to eThekwini Electricity (TE) for a distribution systems integration project. This assistance will provide TE with a strategic plan for the implementation of an integrated information technology system that will allow TE to tie its customer data with supply information in real time. CORE International was selected to perform the assistance.

Zambia

Airports Master Plan Feasibility Study – USTDA is providing $725,000 to the Zambian Ministry of Transport to develop a master plan for the four international airports of Lusaka, Livingstone, Ndola, and Mfuwe. The study will design an implementation plan for the improvement and rehabilitation of the four airports. The Government of Zambia (GOZ) has placed the highest priority on the development of these four airports for 2006-2010. The Ministry of Transport will competitively select the contractor to perform this study.