United States African Development Foundation

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United States African Development Foundation

Founded	1980
Legal status	Federal agency of the United States
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°54′04″N 77°01′56″W / 38.9010349°N 77.0322568°W / 38.9010349; -77.0322568
Area served	Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
Methods	$30 million appropriated funds in FY 2016, $53 million invested in 500 active enterprises in 20 African countries. $80 million in new economic activities in underserved communities in Africa.
Chair of the board of directors	Carol Moseley Braun[1]
President and Chief Executive Officer	Travis Adkins
Website	www.usadf.gov

The U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) is an independent U.S. government agency established by Congress in 1980 to invest directly in African grassroots enterprises and social entrepreneurs. USADF's investments aim to increase incomes, revenues, and jobs by promoting self-reliance and market-based solutions to poverty. USADF targets marginalized populations and underserved communities in the Sahel, Great Lakes, and the Horn of Africa. It partners with African governments, other U.S. government agencies, private corporations, and foundations to achieve transformative results.

The USADF measures grant success in terms of jobs created and sustained, household and enterprise incomes increased, and grantee organizations strengthened. For fiscal year 2021, Congress provided USADF with $33 million to carry out their activities.

By the time of its 40th anniversary in December 2020, USADF had invested over $265 million via nearly 4,000 grants to African enterprises; impacting over 10 million lives. A study by Foreign Policy Analytics in 2020 determined that for every $10,000 in USADF grant funding in Africa, 25 workers are hired in the agriculture sector, 19 people in youth-led enterprises, and 79 people in the electrical power sector.

According to the OECD, the largest share of gross bilateral ODA from the United States went to sub-Saharan Africa and to partner countries in the least-developed country (LDC) category.^[2]