Congressional Budget Justification

Congressional Budget Justification

FY’25 Congressional Budget Justification

Click here for a copy of the full text of the CBJ. 

 

FY’24 Congressional Budget Justification

A Message from

The Board of Directors and The President

THE UNITED STATES AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION 

We are pleased to present the Administration’s FY 2024 budget justification for the United States African Development Foundation (USADF). The FY 2024 budget request of $46 million for USADF will support broad U.S. foreign assistance priorities and national interests in hard-to-reach communities across Africa. Specifically, $46 million will provide USADF resources to award approximately 300 new grants and continue to monitor an active grant portfolio of $51 million representing more than 450 African community enterprises.

USADF is an independent U.S. government agency with a mission to create pathways to prosperity for underserved communities in Africa. Established by Congress in 1980 to invest directly in African grassroots enterprises and social entrepreneurs, USADF remains an important tool in the U.S. government’s foreign assistance toolkit.

USADF is on the frontier of development, working directly with Africans on the continent to address some of Africa’s most difficult development challenges with programs to increase U.S development assistance in the hardest to reach areas. USADF works with underserved populations, those impacted by conflict, persons living with disabilities, youth, women, refugee communities, and smallholder farmers. USADF provides grant capital, capacity building through local technical expertise, and convening opportunities for grassroots enterprises that empower the underserved to become part of Africa’s growth story. The Foundation’s participatory development model emphasizes resilience and sustainable strategies that allow families to move towards increased self-sufficiency and promote market-based solutions to poverty.

At USADF, each project is unique, and the agency is accountable to the U.S. taxpayer for every dollar spent. Each project has stringent, individual financial benchmarks to meet before funds are released, and a series of compliance reviews and internal audits are executed on every project. USADF’s African staff and partners lead our country teams and facilitate our African-owned and -led, participatory, bottom-up and localized development model. USADF’s direct relationship with its grantees allows it to direct our investments to each African-owned enterprise with no middleman and little administrative overhead.

USADF ensures critical U.S. trade, investment, and development initiatives such as Feed the Future, Power Africa, and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), as well as targeted national security and women and youth development programs reach thousands of communities often left out of Africa’s growth story. USADF uses an innovative African-led and -managed development model that directs development resources to the vulnerable areas with greatest need and potential for impact.

The Foundation also offers a high return on U.S. taxpayer dollars. For FY 2024 USADF plans to augment the $46 million of requested federal funds by using leveraged funds from African governments, private foundations and corporations, and U.S. interagency sources to expand total funds available for project grants. USADF intends to leverage $15.1 million in external funding in FY 2024 – roughly $1 for every $3 in taxpayer funds.

USADF’s enduring relationship with communities in Africa continues to provide a unique perspective on development, stability, and peace and security on the continent. As the drivers of instability proliferate, it is increasingly important for the United States to invest in economic development in Africa, particularly in ways that reach communities of greatest need and vulnerability. USADF affirms its commitment to country-ownership and community involvement for successful capacity building and long-term development success. Our programs deliver results that extend key U.S. foreign assistance priorities, including improving local food production through agricultural innovation, increasing income levels for shared prosperity, promoting women’s economic security, and creating an environment for economic growth and investments. We look forward to Congress’s continued support and guidance as we seek to maintain and expand the impact of this unique foreign assistance program and mutual opportunities for growth and strengthened ties between African nations and the United States.

Sincerely,

John W. Leslie, Jr.,Chairman

Dr. John O. Agwunobi, Vice Chair

Travis Adkins, President and CEO

Click here for a copy of the full text of the CBJ.