Prosper Africa

The U.S. Government in December 2018 launched Prosper Africa to unlock opportunities to do business in Africa. Prosper Africa is now fully operational to exploit the resources of over 15 U.S. Government agencies to connect U.S. and African businesses with new buyers, suppliers, and investment opportunities.

The participating agencies are:

• U.S. Department of State
• U.S. Department of the Treasury
• U.S. Department of Defense
• U.S. Department of Agriculture
• U.S. Department of Commerce
• U.S. Department of Energy
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• Office of the United States Trade Representative
• U.S. Agency for International Development
• Export-Import Bank of the United States
• Millennium Challenge Corporation
• U.S. International Development Finance Corporation
• U.S. Small Business Administration
• United States African Development Foundation
• U.S. Trade and Development Agency

In South Africa, the best prospects for exports are in capital goods, though opportunities exist in a wide range of consumer products, services, and franchising.

State Owned Entities

Since 2014, South African SOEs such as Eskom (electric power) and Transnet (transportation) formalized capital expenditure plans amounting to more than R685.5 billion. However, some major projects are under review due to questions surrounding good governance, financial viability, and the radical change in direction by the administration, since President Cyril Ramaphosa took charge in February 2018, to reduce high national debt levels, compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Promising projects remain, however, in the following:

• Renewable Energy
• Oil and Gas Supplies and Equipment
• Transportation Infrastructure
• Pollution Control Equipment
• Medical Equipment and Healthcare Services
• Telecommunications and Information Technology