III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 114 

Commending the United States African Development Foundation on the occasion of its 40th anniversary for creating pathways to prosperity for 

underserved communities on the African continent through communityled development. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 15, 2021 

Mr. COONS (for himself and Mr. INHOFE) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Commending the United States African Development Foundation on the occasion of its 40th anniversary for creating pathways to prosperity for underserved communities on the African continent through community-led 

development. 

Whereas December 16, 2020, marked the 40th anniversary of 

the establishment of the United States African Development Foundation (referred to in this preamble as the 

‘‘USADF’’); 

Whereas, on December 16, 1980, the President signed the 

African Development Foundation Act (22 U.S.C. 290h et 

seq.) into law, which established the USADF as an independent Federal agency with the goal to— 


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•SRES 114 IS 

(1) strengthen the bonds of friendship and understanding between the people of the countries of Africa 

and the United States; 

(2) support local capacity building to create community development opportunities and expand the participation of the countries of Africa in their development process; and 

(3) foster the establishment and growth of indigenous development institutions that are equipped to respond to local needs; 

Whereas, for 40 years, the USADF has invested in a panAfrican network of local implementing partners that employ a community-led development approach to support 

African-designed and African-delivered solutions; 

Whereas the USADF has provided more than 3,400 grassroots and community enterprise grants in more than 40 

sub-Saharan African countries; 

Whereas the USADF strengthens food security, empowers 

smallholder farmers, and creates economic growth in 

rural, hard-to-reach communities by investing primarily 

in agricultural enterprises to increase access to larger 

markets for those rural communities and enhance the 

business management skills, production, distribution, and 

marketing capabilities of those rural communities; 

Whereas the USADF has maintained a strong emphasis on 

women and women entrepreneurs, and women represent 

up to 65 percent of the direct beneficiaries of grants from 

the USADF; 

Whereas, on February 20, 2020, the USADF partnered with 

the Academy for Entrepreneurs of the Department of 

State under the Women’s Global Development and ProsVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR114.IS SR114

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•SRES 114 IS 

perity Initiative to provide seed funding to graduates of 

the Academy for Entrepreneurs to advance the global 

economic empowerment of women; 

Whereas the USADF prioritizes partnerships with youth and 

supports nearly 300 social enterprises of Young African 

Leaders Initiative fellows and alumni of that initiative in 

37 sub-Saharan African countries by providing seed capital, technical assistance, and skills training to help 

young entrepreneurs create businesses that generate new 

jobs and incomes for thousands of young Africans; 

Whereas the work of the USADF in the off-grid energy sector, which is authorized under the Electrify Africa Act of 

2015 (22 U.S.C. 2293 note), has helped bring renewable 

energy solutions to communities with limited or no connections to national power grids and improve energy access for nearly 370,000 individuals in 15 sub-Saharan 

African countries; 

Whereas the USADF’s model of using 100-percent African 

staff and implementing partners on the African continent 

gives the USADF the ability to work in fragile and conflict-affected areas in the Great Lakes, Horn, and Sahel 

regions of Africa; 

Whereas the small size of the USADF and the use of local 

implementing partners by the USADF has allowed the 

USADF to be ranked as one of the most efficient providers of foreign aid by the Center for Global Development; 

Whereas the partnerships of the USADF with agencies of the 

Federal Government, including the Department of State, 

the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the United 

States Agency for International Development, along with 


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•SRES 114 IS 

the alignment of the USADF with the priorities of Congress, have allowed the USADF to extend the reach of 

critical development initiatives of the United States, such 

as initiatives authorized by the Global Food Security Act 

of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 9301 et seq.), the Electrify Africa 

Act of 2015 (22 U.S.C. 2293 note), and the African 

Growth and Opportunity Act and Millennium Challenge 

Act Modernization Act (Public Law 115–167; 132 Stat. 

1276); 

Whereas the partnerships between the USADF and private 

sector corporations and foundations, as well as African 

national and sub-national governments, have allowed the 

USADF to extend its reach and development impact in 

addressing food insecurity, insufficient access to energy, 

and unemployment through youth and women entrepreneurship and job skills training and placement in Africa, 

while leveraging funding to help the dollars of taxpayers 

in the United States go further; and 

Whereas investments made by the USADF have developed 

and strengthened an extensive network of grassroots enterprises and social enterprises that are positively disposed to the United States and are better positioned to 

partner with other Federal agencies and public and private funders: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) commends the United States African Devel3 opment Foundation on the occasion of its 40th anni4 versary for creating pathways to prosperity for un5 derserved communities on the African continent 

6 through community-led development; 


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1 (2) recognizes that, by supporting African-led 

2 development that grows community enterprises, the 

3 United States African Development Foundation em4 powers individuals who are least served by existing 

5 markets or assistance programs to become a part of 

6 the growth story of Africa; 

7 (3) recognizes that the United States African 

8 Development Foundation advances the foreign policy 

9 of the Federal Government and contributes directly 

10 to the national interests of the United States; and 

11 (4) commits to continue to support the vital 

12 work of the United States African Development 

13 Foundation as an independent agency. 

Æ 


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