Harris ready to reframe U.S. views on Africa and foster partnership

Accra, Ghana — If US Vice President Kamala Harris has a favorite number on her trip to Africa, it’s undoubtedly 19. This is the median age on this continent, and she repeats it at every opportunity.

For Harris, this is not child’s play, but the driving force behind reinvigorated US outreach in Africa. Washington is racing to establish partnerships on the oldest inhabited continent with the youngest population, a test that could reshape the economy here and, by extension, the rest of the world.

As part of that effort, Harris plans to unveil more than $1 billion in public and private funding for women’s economic empowerment on Wednesday, according to her office. The money is expected to come from a mix of nonprofit foundations, private companies and the federal government, and is intended to expand access to digital services, provide skills training and support entrepreneurs.

The US vice president is expected to make the announcement during a meeting with six Ghanaian women entrepreneurs, her last event in Ghana before continuing her week-long tour of Tanzania and Zambia.

Harris is the most high-profile member of President Joe Biden’s administration to visit Africa this year as the United States steps up outreach amid global rivalry on the continent. She paid particular attention to economic development and youth during her stay in Ghana.

Harris visited a skate park and recording studio, posted a Spotify playlist of African musicians, spoke to a crowd of thousands of young people and invited a coterie of celebrities, civil rights leaders and d businessmen to join her at a banquet in her honor.

It’s a carefully calibrated campaign to reframe the way Americans see opportunity in Africa. New investments could not only benefit American businesses, but also alleviate one of the most pressing challenges here.

“If we don’t find jobs – because that’s what it is – for this growing young population, it will be dangerous for political stability on the continent,” said Rama Yade, senior director of the Atlantic Council Africa Center. “Because they will attack institutions if they cannot afford to live.

The desire for investment was on full display Monday night at the presidential palace known as Jubilee House, where Washington officials ditched their usual attire for vibrant dresses and sharp tuxedos for the state banquet. Hollywood stars Spike Lee, Idris Elba and Rosario Dawson were among the attendees.

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo entered with Harris, he in a dark double-breasted suit and she in a white dress and a cape adorned with a purple flower on the right shoulder.

Although the atmosphere was festive, the message was commercial. A large screen at the end of the banquet tent showed a computer-generated animation of Accra’s future development, a vision of a modern African metropolis.

“We are encouraged that more American companies than ever are looking to invest in Ghana,” Akufo-Addo said. “And we will continue to create and maintain the right investment atmosphere that will ensure not only the safety of their investments, but also good returns on those investments.

By diversifying the country’s economy beyond the export of natural resources, Akufo-Addo said, he envisioned “a Ghana beyond aid”.

Ghana is grappling with soaring inflation and a ballooning debt burden, and Akufo-Addo noted the impact of “pernicious developments” like the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We want to work together to change the African narrative, which has largely been characterized by a focus on disease, hunger, poverty and mass illegal migration,” he said. “Together, we must help make Africa the place of investment, progress and prosperity.”

It’s a change Harris is eager to help foster.

“As we face some real challenges, I look around tonight and I’m truly more optimistic than ever,” Harris said in his own toast. “And I know that by working together, the United States and Ghana, alongside the diaspora and the people of this beautiful continent, will share and share our future for the better.”

Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, also joined in the effort. He visited a girls’ basketball clinic and spoke to female students in a town hall with the cast of the local TV series ‘You Only Live Once’, which tackles public health issues and other challenges facing young Ghanaians.

Emhoff said the message was about “having the confidence to know that you can do whatever you want in this world.”

But this hope for the future is not necessarily generalized.

Adwoa Brentuo, who graduated with a degree in information science four years ago, is among those who fear their education has been of no help.

“I have now given up on finding jobs because they don’t exist,” she said. “I also realized that writing apps had become a waste of time.”

Ghana’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Yussif, estimated that only one in 10 university graduates gets a job.

“Others won’t be able to find jobs for a long time,” Yussif said.

This is a problem across the continent. The African Development Bank estimates that there are on average about 11 million people entering the labor market while at the same time only about 3 million jobs are created.

Harris’ stops in Ghana included a youth center in Accra which includes a skate park and recording studio. Young skaters were sliding back and forth as he arrived, their boards sometimes slamming against the sidewalk.

Inside, a staff member said teens can learn things like bookkeeping in addition to playing music.

“We’re all learning from scratch,” the staffer told Harris. “Let’s hope for the next generation here.”

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