Lessons in Commercial Diplomacy, Economic integration

Against the backdrop of tariffs, travel bans by the United States, and rigid visa regime among African countries, the 2025 US-Africa Business Summit in Luanda, Angola, shared some home truths and perspectives. Raheem Akingbolu reports.

The 17th US-Africa Business Summit held recently in Luanda, Angola, was a moment of truth about the economic future of Africa, the untapped opportunities that abound across the continent, bureaucratic impediments and ways to address the challenges.

Chairman of the Economic Council on Africa (CCA), organisers of the summit, John Olajide, who set the ball rolling, spoke to figures and data about opportunities in Africa and how the summit can be a platform to address the knotty issues and turn Africa to the most Economic attractive continent in the world. In particular, the CCA Chair called the attention of over 2,000 participants at the summit to the fact that Africa GDP has been growing at the rate that surpasses the global average. He also reminded African leaders and business owners present at the event of the fact that the continent had been identified as a home to six of the top 10 economies in the world with massive business opportunities that would create value and lift both Africa and global economies.

“If we are all willing with intent, we can unlock all the opportunities in the continent because we have the favourable figures and data to impact the world and make our continent great. Today, Africa has a rapidly growing middle class with consumer spending that is expected to surpass 2.1 trillion dollars by the end of 2025. Besides, with the launch of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement, we now have the largest free trade market with 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of 3.4 trillion dollars. These are incredible figures that we must all determine to explore to grow Africa economies.”

As a successful entrepreneur who used what he learnt from a US school and the opportunities he saw to set up a home health technological company -Axxess that has now become a global leader in technology to power high quality services, Olajide and the oppCA Chair for two years running, Olajide said he is confident that Africans have the enduring spirit and knowledge to compete favourably in a global landscape. He also shared the success story of Cavista, his investment in Africa with offices in Nigeria, Ɓostwana, Philippines and India and how its exploits in software development, Agriculture and Hospitality are creating values across the markets.

A push for regional integration, impactful investment

At another forum during the summit -The High-Level Dialogue on “The Race to Connect”, a conversation on building a resilient digital infrastructure across the continent, Olajide urged African leaders to invest in infrastructures that will help the continent access the opportunities in the global tech revolution. He also called for regional integration and urged the African leaders to review and harmonize the visa regime across the continent. To support his view, the CCA Chairman referenced the challenges faced by some participants before they could connect Angola, whereas participants from the US entered the country without any hindrance.

Meanwhile, African leaders at the summit called for an urgent review of the U.S. tariffs on African exports, urging a shift towards transformative partnerships and investment in Africa’s economic potential.

Angolan President João Lourenço said: “It is time to replace the logic of aid with the logic of investment and trade.”

He urged U.S. companies to diversify beyond traditional oil and mineral extraction and invest in sectors such as automotive manufacturing, shipbuilding, tourism, cement production, and steel production.

African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf added, “We’re not seeking aid, but building co-created solutions.” He called for the removal of punitive tariffs and visa restrictions, noting that Africa’s 1.3 billion people and abundant resources remain among the world’s most significant untapped economic opportunities.

“This should not just be a summit, but a call to action. Together, let’s walk the pathways to prosperity—with unity, purpose, and Agenda 2063 as our guide,” he told the summit.

In his remarks, African Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said, “We should review the high tariffs on African countries. What is needed is more trade between Africa and the U.S., not less.”

Adesina pointed to the Lobito corridor as a concrete example of strategic investment already underway.

He also disclosed that the African Development Fund, the soft loan arm of the Bank Group, would be providing $500 million in support of the development of the Lobito Corridor. Additionally, the African Development Bank will provide $1 billion over five years for complementary investments around the corridor, including agricultural value chains, roads, and energy infrastructure.

African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretary General Wamkele Mene reinforced Africa’s integration agenda, highlighting the importance of open regional markets. “The undertaking of the AfCFTA is an ambitious one—It has to be ambitious,” Mene said. He emphasized that the success of AfCFTA is essential to scale investment, reduce fragmentation, and accelerate industrial development across the continent.

Building real partnerships

The central message was clear: the era of aid dependency is over, and the time for transformative investment partnerships has arrived. The leaders called for bold, strategic investments to unlock Africa’s trillion-dollar potential.

Responding to the call for deeper engagement, U.S. officials acknowledged Africa’s growing economic importance and the need to reset perceptions. Senior State Department Bureau Official Troy Fitrell said, “There are business leaders in the U.S. who need to understand the opportunities that lie in doing business with Africa. Our mission going forward will be to find them—and bring them in.”

He admitted that African markets and economies are vastly different from how they were 25 years ago and thus required a different approach from governments and businesses.

He stated that the US government is now focused on commercial diplomacy, with its representatives firmly instructed to engage with the African private sector.

“Our embassies work for you, the private sector. We have changed the incentive structure and our ambassadors are to be judged by how well they support you [the private sector],” he said, and encouraged African heads of state to question ambassadors who are unable to deliver such opportunities. “They should be offering you opportunities every day,” he stressed.

Noting the opportunities for investments in physical and digital infrastructure in Africa, Fitrell said he embraces the challenge of presenting those opportunities to the 300,000 business-ready American companies who are not presently doing business in Africa.

“We have to make sure they understand what’s available here and bring them to the market as well,” he said, acknowledging that African governments and business people that he has interacted with are committed to reforms to attract US investment.

“US government institutions also have to become more nimble and aggressive in pursuing opportunities on the continent,” he added. Fitrell expressed confidence in the case for American investment in the continent, underscoring the durability of its products as well as investments in local human capital.

In the same way, the Senior Advisor for Africa to the US Government, Massad Boulos, said the Donald Trump administration saw the four-day summit as an opportunity to strengthen its relationship with Africa. He also emphasized the fact that the US has shifted from her traditional focus of giving aid to African nations to a more meaningful and technological driven investment.

To this end, Boulos pointed out that the US is committed to supporting countries in the region that are not ridden by crisis, pointing out that from the beginning of his administration,

Touching on the recent impediments

In his remarks, the new head of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, went straight to the crux of the matter. He called for frank engagement between the United States and Africa, noting that trade between the two regions is not helped by the imposition of travel bans on some African countries as well as the imposition of tariffs in violation of World Trade Organisation rules and other international agreements.

In June, Trump banned citizens from seven African countries from travelling to the United States. Citing risks from terrorism and a recent attack in Boulder, Colorado, as well as the prevalence of visa overstays, Trump justified the exclusion of citizens of Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan. Partial restrictions have also been imposed on citizens from Burundi, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

In April, Trump slapped tariffs on scores of African countries as part of his ‘Liberation Day’ overhaul of US trade relations – with the hardest-hit nations being Lesotho, whose goods will be hit with a tariff of 50%; Madagascar (47%); and Mauritius (40%). Just a few of the other hard hit countries are Botswana (37%); Angola (32%) South Africa (30%); Libya (31%); Algeria (30%); and Tunisia (28%). Those and other tariffs have been reduced to a 10% universal levy for three months pending further negotiations.

Ali Youssouf also called on African countries to embrace reforms and correct policy missteps, arguing that recent developments showed that Africa will need to drive its own development.

“We need to get the fundamentals right. In this [global environment], we know we need to rely on ourselves and invest in domestic transformation and resource mobilisation,” he urged.