President United States African Development Foundation USADF, Travis Adkins has reiterated the foundation’s unwavering commitment to fostering economic growth, empowering communities, and strengthening trade and investment ties between the United States and Africa.
Adkins made the commitment during a five day tour to its local implementing partner in Nigeria, Diamond Development Initiatives DDI.
USADF’S Local Implementing Partner in Nigeria, Diamond Development Initiatives showcased the transformative impact of USADF programs in Nigeria since 2001 during the five day tour of the USADF’S President to Nigeria with a view to assessing its achievements while bringing together the USADF and DDI teams and setting the stage for a more collaboration and idea exchange.
Executive Director, Diamond Development Initiatives (DDI), Adamu Garba said President Adkins’ visit underlines the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to deepening economic engagement with Africa. USADF, an independent US government agency, directly invests in African grassroots enterprises and social entrepreneurs, increasing incomes, revenues, and jobs by promoting self-reliance and market-based solutions to poverty.
According to him, USADF’s country program in Nigeria encompasses core programming pillars; agriculture and food security, women and youth entrepreneurship, vocational training and job creation, renewable energy access, and support for creative industries.
During the visit, President/CEO Adkins engaged with USADF grantees and witnessed the impact of USADF’s work in tackling food insecurity, enhancing smallholder farmer livelihoods, and promoting agricultural enterprise growth. Discussions included US government support for expanding electricity generation in underserved communities through sustainable business models.
He added that the event underscored, the significance of partnership and dedication in driving economic growth, with several activities such as Agricultural Mini Fair, where USADF’s remarkable agricultural grantees, organized as cooperatives, exhibited their products and shared inspiring success stories.
While given the breakdown of the activities during the tour said the Acting U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, David Greene, and members of staff of the US embassy honoured the event with their presence, emphasizing the importance of the U.S. Government’s work in Nigeria.
The visit also featured Mr Adkins’ visit to Wuse Market in Abuja, on a tour of GVE’s groundbreaking off-grid energy project, a 1MW system, that promises to revolutionize the market by providing uninterrupted power supply to over 2,000 shop owners who currently rely on limited daily electricity and petrol-powered generators. This initiative aligns with USADF’s commitment to transforming communities and bringing renewable energy to the underserved.
In Lagos, the journey continued with Mr Adkins delivering remarks at an All-On/USADF Conference, focusing on increasing access to energy. Additionally, Mr Adkins and the USADF and DDI team visited the Field of Skills and Dreams Academy, witnessing firsthand the transformational impact of USADF’s support in vocational training and job creation.
Day 5 brought meaningful encounters with innovative entrepreneurs and a visit to enterprises like Ady’s Agro Food Mart, a grantee of the USADF Academy of Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) program. Ady’s Food Mart, demonstrated significant growth and impact, including improved service delivery, enhanced production efficiency, and global expansion.
The visit also featured a meeting with Sunhive Limited, an energy company at the forefront of designing energy storage solutions using second-life lithium cells. Their contributions to sustainable energy align with USADF’s mission to empower local businesses and foster economic growth.
