The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Western Union launched the third round of the African Diaspora Marketplace (ADM III), a public-private initiative that provides financial, technical and expert-knowledge support to African diaspora entrepreneurs.
The goal of the initiative is to stimulate investment in Africa by U.S.-based small and medium-sized enterprises, thereby promoting sustainable economic growth and job creation on the continent. Entrepreneurs who participate in the ADM program have demonstrable connections to or experience in Africa, and innovative, high-impact start-ups or established businesses on the continent.
ADM III kicked off its U.S. eight-city tour on December 13 in Boston to identify potential participants for the program. New York City is its second stop, beginning December 15, followed by Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, and Atlanta, before returning to Washington, D.C. on January 15.
The tour consists of a business networking reception and workshop, where diaspora entrepreneurs learn about the ADM program and sign up to participate in a business plan competition to determine which enterprises will receive grants to start or expand in Africa. Awardees work closely with ADM managers to identify and address their specific business challenges and leverage support provided by ADM resource partners, including the Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF), George Washington University Center for International Business Education and Research (GW-CIBER), and the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP).
Since its inception in 2009, ADM has held three business plan competitions and has awarded 34 diaspora-owned SMEs with matched grants. An additional 850 Africa-based businesses have participated in business training and access to finance events. To connect lenders and investors with entrepreneurs across the continent, ADM and its partners have held two SME banking forums, an SME investor pitch event, and related training and webinars.
In January of this year, ADM II awardee Sardis Enterprises International in Ghana began shipping its flagship product, Ashanti pineapples, to Whole Foods Market Inc. stores in the United States.
Three new partners signed on for ADM III: the Minority Business Development Agency, a U.S. Department of Commerce unit, which will provide business training and support for potential applicants; Homestrings LLC, which will provide a platform for awardees to raise follow-on capital; and Deloitte Consulting LLP, which pledged up to $1,000,000 of in-kind professional technical assistance to either ADM grantees or qualified AWEP members to support the development of the grantees business.
