Latest news with #TroyFitrell
Epoch Times
3 hours ago
- Business
- Epoch Times
US Plans to Challenge China on Multiple Fronts in Africa, Says Trump Official
WASHINGTON—The United States will focus on 'investment-led and trade-driven growth' to stifle China's malign influence in Africa and to fight Beijing's attempts at global hegemony, according to Washington's most senior official for African Affairs. In testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy on Wednesday, Troy Fitrell said the U.S. government under President Donald Trump will counter Beijing's 'predatory and destabilizing' behavior with 'credible, reliable, and fair alternatives' aimed at benefiting Africans and Americans.
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
US steps up contest with China in Africa by focusing on ambassadors' business deals
The US State Department has introduced performance metrics for American ambassadors in Africa to evaluate them based on the number of business deals they make as part of the US government's new 'trade, not aid' approach. Within its first 100 days, President Donald Trump's second administration secured 33 deals worth US$6 billion across the continent, announced Troy Fitrell, senior US official for the Bureau of African Affairs, at the launch of the bureau in mid-May. The US' new commercial diplomacy strategy 'focuses our efforts on the countries where US companies want to do business and where the data shows we ought to do business', Fitrell said on May 15. Meanwhile, Trump has not only overhauled USAID – whose activities helped fight diseases such as HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria in Africa – and suspended foreign aid, but has also imposed trade tariffs. The administration has moved to dismantle the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which has invested more than US$10 billion in 24 African countries since 2004. 16:09 How China is reshaping its economic ties with Africa How China is reshaping its economic ties with Africa Trump also planned to host the next US-Africa Leaders Summit later this year. When the US hosted a similar summit in 2022, former US president Joe Biden pledged to invest US$55 billion in Africa over three years.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Cybastion, U.S. Tech Leaders Unveil Digital Fast Track Program to Expand U.S. Tech Investment in Africa
New Initiative Advances U.S. Commercial Diplomacy Agenda in Africa WASHINGTON, June 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In a bold move to advance the new U.S. commercial diplomacy strategy in Africa, U.S. technology firm Cybastion and a consortium of American tech companies unveiled the Digital Fast Track program, a sweeping digital infrastructure initiative aimed at accelerating Africa's digital transformation and expanding U.S. business and investment across the continent. The Digital Fast Track program was announced in late-April at a launch event in Washington, D.C. with high-level representatives from the White House, U.S. and African governments, and tech and financial sectors. Powered by U.S. technology and financed by U.S. and African private capital, this ambitious private sector-led initiative aims to deliver robust digital infrastructure and support a suite of innovative digital and cybersecurity solutions in African markets. Led by Cybastion, a Virginia-based tech leader delivering digital and infrastructure solutions in Africa, the Digital Fast Track program is designed to help African nations achieve secure, resilient technological growth, while opening unparalleled new opportunities for American companies and investors. As the United States reshapes its Africa trade and investment strategy through the new U.S. commercial diplomacy plan, the Digital Fast Track program offers a blueprint for public-private partnerships that align with U.S. foreign policy objectives and advance the digital ambitions of African nations. Since January 2025, Cybastion has signed more than $500 million in new deals for digital transformation projects on the continent. The new U.S. commercial diplomacy plan was announced by Ambassador Troy Fitrell, Senior Bureau Official for the State Department's Bureau of African Affairs, at the AmCham Business Summit on May 14 in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Ambassador Fitrell outlined the U.S. Department of State's six-point plan for boosting U.S. trade and investment in Africa, which includes engaging U.S. embassies in Africa in identifying opportunities for American investment and facilitates partnerships and financing to deliver a strategic and economic impact. With operations already underway in Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, Gabon, and Guinea, Cybastion's digital transformation projects reflect a U.S.-Africa business model grounded in trust, partnership, and long-term growth. "The Digital Fast Track program is a catalyst for realizing Africa's digital ambitions by harnessing American technology and innovation," said Dr. Thierry Wandji, President and CEO of Cybastion. "Cybastion is proud to serve as a bridge—connecting U.S. and African partners, governments, and financial institutions—to build a secure digital future that drives growth, innovation, and shared prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic." Anchored by a continental network of sovereign data centers, the U.S.-driven initiative will establish a new transatlantic submarine cable from Virginia to landing points in West Africa. The installation of first-ever submarine cable is expected to start in 2026. The data centers – all supported by U.S. technology – will serve as launching points for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other tech capabilities. Internationally recognized training programs will equip African youth with the skills to deploy U.S. technology to advance Africa's digital innovation. Former Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant attended the launch event and gave a rousing pitch for the United States to increase two-way business and investment between the U.S. and Africa. "Africa is our future and is open for business," said Governor Bryant. As governor, he led trade missions to Africa to explore investment opportunities, particularly in the sectors of aerospace, agricultural equipment, electrical power systems, and healthcare. A curated photo exhibition showcased the Digital Fast Track's four pillars: Digital Solutions, Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, and Workforce Training. The initiative's training component, Africa DigiEmpower, launched in partnership with Cisco, aims to train hundreds of thousands of young people and women across Africa in digital, cybersecurity, and AI skills. ABOUT CYBASTION: Cybastion is an American technology company that delivers world-class digital and cybersecurity solutions to accelerate Africa's digital transformation. Its mission is to empower Africa's digital future by creating secure, resilient, and reliable digital ecosystems that drive innovation, growth, and prosperity. Visit PRESS CONTACTS:U.S. media contact: Shanta Bryant Gyan – sbgyan@ Africa-based media contact: Marie Ango – mango@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Cybastion Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Washington prepares for US-African Leaders Summit
The Trump administration is working out the final details for a US-Africa Leaders Summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September that will be 'almost entirely focused on economic growth,' according to its top Africa official. Troy Fitrell, head of the US State Department's Africa bureau, said he had submitted his recommendations for an event he sees as an opportunity for commercial and market advocacy. His team has been encouraging African governments to come prepared with 'a couple of major deals' and use the summit as an 'action-forcing event,' he said during a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace event in Washington last week. The last US-Africa Leaders Summit was hosted by President Joe Biden in December 2022, drawing more than 40 African leaders. Just before US President Donald Trump took office, lawmakers added a provision in an annual defense bill mandating that the president host an event for African leaders this year, with another one in two years' time. Congress' concerns are that limited senior US engagement with African leaders is leading Washington to cede ground to China and other powers.
New York Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
U.S. Says It Wants Trade, Not Aid, in Africa. Cuts Threaten Both.
Commuters in Abidjan, one of West Africa's largest cities, joke that it is impossible to run two errands a day because of traffic. A new overpass on the way to the airport could make their journeys smoother. About 120,000 vehicles will move through it every day, according to the Ivorian agency overseeing its construction. For years, as the work continued, a billboard told Ivorians who made it possible: 'Financed by the American people.' But they are not so sure of that promise anymore. The billboard was removed earlier this year because President Trump has gutted U.S. foreign aid, leaving large infrastructure projects financed by the United States facing an uncertain future. Now, construction workers in Abidjan are rushing to complete the overpass before the Trump administration turns off the funding. It is a sign of how African investors and government leaders, as well as drivers, are adapting to the new U.S. strategy on the continent. The United States is not so much in a financing mood. It wants deals. 'Trade, not aid, is now the pillar of our policy in Africa,' Troy Fitrell, the State Department's top Africa official, said in a speech last week at a business summit in Abidjan. Minutes after he finished speaking, U.S. and Ivorian companies signed more than half a dozen deals, including to supply drones for agriculture and mining, and scanning systems for border monitoring. Mr. Trump has broken with the terms that defined decades of U.S. involvement in Africa: He has shrunk the U.S. Agency for International Development, imposed tariffs that threaten a free-trade mechanism with dozens of African countries, and rolled back anti-corruption standards for American companies doing business with foreign partners. Mr. Fitrell said last week that the United States would prioritize commercial diplomacy in Africa. The continent will be home to a quarter of the world's population by 2050, but countries south of the Sahara account for only 1 percent of U.S. trade in goods. The Trump administration's strategy is meant to boost that, said Mr. Fitrell. Amid this broad shift to dismantle agencies and programs built under previous administrations, both Republican and Democrat, experts say that some projects that align with Mr. Trump's pro-trade priorities hang in the balance. One is the overpass in Ivory Coast. The Trump administration has begun dismantling a little-known agency established by Congress in 2004 that finances it and dozens of large infrastructure projects in a short list of countries. These include projects to expand electricity grids, build roads or increase women's employment in places such as Indonesia, Nepal and Senegal. The funds go to governments, selected for their growth potential and good governance, rather than nonprofit groups. As China brings stadiums and railroads to Africa and Turkey builds airports, these projects could also strengthen American influence. African leaders and American experts, diplomats and entrepreneurs have said that the agency, known as the Millennium Challenge Corporation, directly benefits U.S. interests — especially when the Africa policy outlined by Mr. Fitrell includes large infrastructure projects. Some have criticized the decision to shut it down. Erin Collinson, the director of policy outreach at the Center for Global Development in Washington, called it 'incredibly shortsighted.' 'The M.C.C. was funded as a unique aid agency that went around the U.S.A.I.D. model and in a singular direction: promoting economic growth,' she said. This month, the U.S. ambassador to Ivory Coast, Jessica Davis Ba, visited the construction site of the overpass, which was started under the first Trump administration, and said that U.S. companies would benefit from better roads in the country. They include Cargill, which exports cocoa beans from Ivory Coast, and Exxon Mobil, which has deals for the exploration of two offshore oil blocks. Mr. Fitrell said the Millennium Challenge Corporation's future has not yet been decided. The Trump administration has said it is willing to continue financing some infrastructure projects in Africa, like a $4 billion rail corridor in Angola meant to improve America's access to cobalt and copper. The agency spent $1.7 billion last year — less than 2 percent of the $59 billion in U.S. foreign assistance obligations. It received waivers for five of the 20 projects it was planning or implementing before the Trump administration instituted a 90-day funding freeze on foreign aid earlier this year. The overpass in Abidjan got an extension of a few months. The deadline to complete the project before the funding runs out is early August, and it is unclear whether the Ivorian government will be able to pay for any final touches needed after that. On a recent morning, construction workers checked the waterproofing of the four-lane overpass towering over the jammed intersection while commuters baked in the sun. They had yet to lay out the asphalt. Hassan Koné, 39, said he and the passengers in his van had been stuck in traffic for two hours. American flags fluttered in the hot wind. Mr. Koné watched them, then sighed, 'The Americans need to hurry up and finish what they've started.'
