Leading financial institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to boost African trade and investment in Africa.

USAID will provide technical assistance and advisory services to prospective businesses in the United States through its Trade and Investment Hubs. The agency will also connect UBA with African Diaspora business groups working across the United States.

The MoU enables UBA, the only sub-Saharan African bank licensed to operate in the United States, to expand access of its reach and extend financing to American companies in the United States looking to do business with African nations. At the centre of the partnership is the Prosper Africa initiative created to increase two-way trade and investment between the United States and African nations.

This partnership also ensures businesses are equipped with the technical and financial tools needed to enter into new trading and investment relationships in Africa and the United States.

Recognizing tremendous growth opportunities, USAID and UBA are collaborating to advance Prosper Africa’s goal of substantially increasing two-way trade between Africa and the United States. By working together, they will extend financing and technical assistance to businesses that will strengthen the American economy, grow African economies, and create jobs on both sides of the Atlantic, a statement from the bank said.

The two institutions entered into the pact as part of the opening ceremony of the Tunisia Prosper Africa Conference, co-organised by the United States Embassy in Tunis and the American Chamber of Commerce of Tunisia. The event also facilitated United States and African business-to-business connections and featured remarks by key representatives from the US Government and African private sector.