I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6455 
To promote, facilitate, and increase two-way trade and investment between 
the United States and Africa. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 20, 2022 
Mr. MCCAUL (for himself and Mrs. MURPHY of Florida) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and 
in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be sub-
sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 
such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To promote, facilitate, and increase two-way trade and 
investment between the United States and Africa. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prosper Africa Act’’. 
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States to promote, facili-
tate, and increase two-way trade and investment between 
the United States and African countries to strengthen 
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commercial ties, promote economic growth and job cre-
ation, and advance strategic partnerships. 
SEC. 3. PROSPER AFRICA INITIATIVE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 
an initiative to be known as the ‘‘Prosper Africa Initia-
tive’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Initiative’’). 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Initiative shall 
be to prioritize and coordinate United States Government 
programs, activities, and diplomatic efforts aimed at in-
creasing two-way trade and investment between the 
United States and Africa, including to— 
(1) identify, promote, and increase trade and 
investment opportunities, facilitate business and in-
vestor engagement, and support dissemination of 
data and market information to better inform 
United States businesses and investors of trade and 
investment opportunities across Africa; 
(2) support efforts of the United States and Af-
rican private sectors to access, navigate, deepen, and 
compete in African and global capital markets using 
a private sector-led and sector-specific approach that 
includes energy, agriculture, information and com-
munications technology, healthcare, financial serv-
ices, arts and entertainment, and infrastructure; 
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(3) modernize, streamline, and improve access 
to resources and services designed to promote in-
creased trade and investment opportunities for 
United States and African businesses and investors; 
(4) promote economic growth and job creation 
in the United States and Africa, while advancing 
strategic partnerships; and 
(5) identify policy, regulatory, and legal reforms 
needed to reduce trade and investment barriers be-
tween the United States and Africa and improve the 
business and investment climate in the United 
States and Africa, including through the reduction 
of the cost of accessing capital. 
SEC. 4. LEADERSHIP AND COORDINATION OF INITIATIVE. 
(a) DIRECTORATE.—The President shall establish a 
directorate to be known as the ‘‘Prosper Africa Direc-
torate’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Directorate’’). 
(b) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The President shall ap-
point an Executive Director of the Directorate who shall 
be responsible for the management, coordination, and in-
formation sharing functions of the Prosper Africa Initia-
tive established pursuant to section 3(a) and other duties 
that support the purposes of the Initiative described in 
section 3(b) as appropriate. 
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(c) DUTIES.—The Executive Director shall be re-
sponsible for— 
(1) convening relevant Federal departments and 
agencies to coordinate programs, assistance, commu-
nications, and stakeholder engagement, and con-
sulting with such departments and agencies on the 
appropriate levels and allocation of resources in sup-
port of achieving the strategic objectives of the Ini-
tiative; 
(2) planning and implementing information 
sharing and other collaboration efforts among rel-
evant Federal departments and agencies, and the 
private sector as appropriate, related to trade and 
investment opportunities, African capital markets, 
and relevant transactions in Africa and support for 
monitoring, evaluation, and transaction facilitation; 
(3) engaging with United States and African 
private sector partners, civil society organizations, 
nongovernmental organizations and the African dias-
pora community, as appropriate, to solicit input and 
feedback on the Initiative’s activities, as well as any 
technical, policy, financial, and political obstacles 
private sector partners encounter in accessing or ex-
panding in African markets or gaining access to cap-
ital for those purposes; and 
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(4) establishing measurable goals and objectives 
for the purposes of carrying out the Initiative. 
(d) LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish 
an interagency leadership committee (in this sub-
section referred to as the ‘‘committee’’) to provide 
strategic guidance for administering the objectives of 
the Initiative and serve as the United States inter-
agency strategic development and coordination body 
for efforts of relevant Federal departments and 
agencies. 
(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The committee shall in-
clude representatives from relevant Federal depart-
ments and agencies, as determined appropriate by 
the President. 
(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Executive Director of 
the Directorate shall serve as chairperson of the 
committee. 
(4) MEETINGS.—The committee shall meet not 
less than four times each year at the call of the Ex-
ecutive Director of the Directorate (or the Director’s 
designee). 
(e) STAFFING AND FIELD PRESENCE.—Subject to 
the availability of appropriations— 
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(1) the Directorate shall be supported by at 
least 6 full-time employees of the Federal Govern-
ment, which should include personnel detailed to the 
Directorate from relevant Federal departments and 
agencies, who are stationed in Africa and whose sole 
duties are to support the purposes of— 
(A) the Initiative described in section 3(b); 
or 
(B) the provisions of the Better Utilization 
of Investments Leading to Development Act of 
2018 (Public Law 116–283) with respect to Af-
rica and in compliance with the requirements of 
the Championing American Business Through 
Diplomacy Act of 2019 (Public Law 116–94; 
22 U.S.C. 9901 et seq.); and 
(2) relevant Federal departments and agencies 
should detail personnel to the Directorate at the Di-
rectorate’s offices in the United States. 
(f) DEAL TEAMS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Prosper Africa Initia-
tive established pursuant to section 3(a) shall be 
supported by designated embassy staff holding posi-
tions related to United States commercial and eco-
nomic interests at United States embassies located 
in Africa, to the extent practicable. Such designated 
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embassy staff at a United States embassy located in 
Africa shall be referred to as a ‘‘deal team’’ for pur-
poses of this subsection. 
(2) DUTIES.—Each deal team shall prioritize 
efforts to identify commercial opportunities, advo-
cate for improvements in the business and invest-
ment climate, engage and consult with private sector 
partners, and report on such activities, in compli-
ance with the applicable requirements of the Cham-
pioning American Business Through Diplomacy Act 
of 2019 (Public Law 116–94; 22 U.S.C. 9901 et 
seq.). 
SEC. 5. INVESTMENT PROMOTION AND TRADE CAPACITY 
BUILDING ASSISTANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting through the 
Executive Director of the Directorate, shall develop and 
implement policies that promote, facilitate, and increase 
two-way trade and investment between the United States 
and Africa, including by providing support for— 
(1) activities to advance trade capacity building 
assistance, as authorized by the African Growth and 
Opportunity Act and Millennium Challenge Mod-
ernization Act (Public Law 115–167) and the 
amendments made by that Act, and other applicable 
statutes; 
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(2) identification and development of invest-
ment opportunities for the United States private sec-
tor in partner countries and efforts to facilitate and 
promote trade and investment opportunities in the 
United States and Africa; 
(3) analysis of market systems, trends, pros-
pects and opportunities for value-addition, including 
risk assessments and constraints analyses of key sec-
tors and United States strategic competitiveness, 
and other reporting on commercial opportunities and 
investment climate in Africa; 
(4) outreach and engagement with small and 
medium-sized enterprises in Africa or doing business 
with African partners, including women-led and di-
aspora-owned businesses; 
(5) efforts to leverage resources and expertise 
to lower non-tariff barriers to trade and investment 
in Africa, such as African enterprise access to cap-
ital, and to generally promote a conducive business 
climate for private sector investment; 
(6) technical assistance to the African Union 
and regional economic communities to implement the 
African Continental Free Trade Area and support 
regional economic integration; and 
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(7) development of local African capital markets 
and Africa’s access to lower cost, longer-term capital 
on global capital markets, including improving Afri-
can investment readiness, increasing the availability 
of market-based risk mitigation tools and improving 
the reliability and availability of investment data, to 
promote the larger-scale, standardized, transparent 
investment flows asked for by investors. 
(b) PRIORITY.—In providing assistance to carry out 
the activities described in subsection (a), the President 
should consider United States strategic interests when al-
locating such assistance and give priority for activities in 
countries that— 
(1) have demonstrated support for economic 
policies that promote the development of private en-
terprise, including foreign direct investment, and 
taken steps to improve a business enabling environ-
ment that could benefit the United States private 
sector and economy if such assistance is provided; or 
(2) are designated by the President— 
(A) as an eligible sub-Saharan African 
country under the African Growth and Oppor-
tunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3703); 
(B) as meeting the threshold requirements 
to enter into an agreement with the United 
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States under section 609 of the Millennium 
Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7708; relat-
ing to Millennium Challenge Compact); or 
(C) as a beneficiary developing country 
under section 502 or 506A of the Trade Act of 
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2462 or 2466a) and has rati-
fied and taken steps to implement the African 
Continental Free Trade Area. 
SEC. 6. ADVISORY COUNCIL. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 
an advisory council— 
(1) to advise the President, and others as ap-
propriate, on the extent to which the Directorate 
and relevant Federal departments and agencies are 
meeting their objectives under this Act, and provide 
suggestions for improvements with respect to meet-
ing those objectives, including implementation chal-
lenges and opportunities; and 
(2) to support efforts to identify, promote, and 
facilitate opportunities to expand commercial ties be-
tween the United States and Africa. 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The advisory council shall be 
composed of— 
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