Advisory panel targets financing gaps as U.S. leans into commercial diplomacy across strategic sectors
By Kemi Osukoya | MARKETS
EXCLUSIVE: The U.S. Export-Import Bank’s Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee met in Washington this week for its first in-person session, focusing on how to expand financing tools to support American companies competing across African markets.
The discussion centered on competitiveness—specifically, how U.S. exporters can better position themselves in sectors where rivals, including but not limited to China, have long deployed state-backed financing to support their firms.
“The Sub-Saharan Advisory board met for the first time in person and talked about the four pillars of the work the U.S. EXIM Bank is doing; they focused on ways they can strengthen competitiveness in Africa,” Florie Liser, chair of the advisory committee and chief executive of the Corporate Council on Africa, told Africa Bazaar. “In other words, other countries, not just China, are supporting their businesses in a specific way and the Board is looking at how they can improve the work that EXIM does for U.S. companies that are investing in Africa so they can compete better with those others.”
The meeting reflects a broader shift in U.S. policy under the Trump administration toward a more commercially driven approach to Africa, with an emphasis on export financing, investment and strategic sectors such as energy, infrastructure and critical minerals.
Liser noted the focus of the meeting was on scaling existing efforts. “I think [EXIM] is already doing some good things in Africa, of course with the projects they have approved already. I think we’re looking for ways in which they can do more,” she said. “We talked about PROJECT VAULT, and critical minerals, are some of the areas we want to ensure U.S. companies can compete on the continent and also working with the Africans so they can be more competitive.”
Recent transactions underscore that approach. EXIM has approved over $2,366 billion financing deals in the last year alone, including a $300 million financing to support exports of Boeing aircraft to Angola’s TAAG Angola Airlines, alongside equipment and services from General Electric Aerospace. The deal is expected to support roughly 1,400 jobs in the U.S.
The bank has also backed a $66 million technology-related project in Côte d’Ivoire involving U.S. firms including Cisco, Amazon Web Services, Motorola Solutions, and Microsoft, as well as a larger energy agreement with Egypt valued in the billions of dollars.
Officials say such deals are intended to align foreign policy objectives with domestic economic priorities—supporting U.S. manufacturing and jobs while expanding commercial ties with African economies.
The advisory committee meeting comes amid a series of diplomatic engagements aimed at reinforcing those ties. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau is visiting Algeria and Morocco this week for talks on regional security, technology cooperation, and commercial partnerships.
The push builds on recent U.S.-brokered agreements between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, which Washington has framed as advancing both regional stability and investment opportunities for American companies as well as recent partnerships in energy and critical minerals with African nations.
The EXIM advisory committee, which comprises of 11 members appointed by the bank’s board, meets twice annually to provide guidance on policies designed to expand U.S. exports and strengthen competitiveness in overseas markets.
