African Development Foundation
Encyclopedia
The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) is an "Independent United States Government Agency"
which provides grants of up to $250,000 to community groups and small enterprises that benefit under served and marginalized groups in Sub-Saharan Africa
. USADF measures grant success in terms of jobs created and sustained, increased incomes levels, and improved social conditions. In 2010 USADF has budgeted over $20 million for project grants in 20 countries. An additional $4.5 million is budgeted for African directed partner organizations that provide technical design and implementation support for USADF grantees.
in 1980, USADF began program operations in 1984. It has since provided financing to more than 1,500 small enterprises and community-based organizations. Descriptions, photos, goals and budgets of active projects in each country may be viewed at the USADF website.
USADF's budget is funded through annual U.S. government appropriations for foreign operations, and is governed by a board of directors that includes seven members who are nominated by the President of the United States
and confirmed by the United States Senate
.
, Botswana
, Burkina Faso
, Burundi
, Cape Verde
, Ghana
, Guinea
, Liberia
, Malawi
, Mali
, Mauritania
, Namibia
, Niger
, Nigeria
, Rwanda
, Senegal
, Swaziland
, Tanzania
, Uganda
, Zambia
, and Zimbabwe
. The Foundation plans to begin new program in the Turkana Region of Kenya
and do special food security project in the Sahel region of West Africa in 2011.
In 2005, the United States Office of Management and Budget
rated ADF's programs fully "effective" under its Performance Assessment Rating Tool (PART) program, an efficiency recognition that has been accorded to less than 10 percent of United States Government grantmaking programs. ADF receives most of its programming resources from the United States Government, but it has also established strategic partnerships with African governments and private corporations to leverage the impact of its federal funding.
Independent agencies of the United States government
Independent agencies of the United States federal government are those agencies that exist outside of the federal executive departments...
which provides grants of up to $250,000 to community groups and small enterprises that benefit under served and marginalized groups in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
. USADF measures grant success in terms of jobs created and sustained, increased incomes levels, and improved social conditions. In 2010 USADF has budgeted over $20 million for project grants in 20 countries. An additional $4.5 million is budgeted for African directed partner organizations that provide technical design and implementation support for USADF grantees.
History
Created by an Act of CongressAct of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by government with a legislature named "Congress," such as the United States Congress or the Congress of the Philippines....
in 1980, USADF began program operations in 1984. It has since provided financing to more than 1,500 small enterprises and community-based organizations. Descriptions, photos, goals and budgets of active projects in each country may be viewed at the USADF website.
USADF's budget is funded through annual U.S. government appropriations for foreign operations, and is governed by a board of directors that includes seven members who are nominated by the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
and confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
.
Operations
USADF currently operates in BeninBenin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
, Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
, Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
, Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
, Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
, Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
, Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. The Foundation plans to begin new program in the Turkana Region of Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
and do special food security project in the Sahel region of West Africa in 2011.
In 2005, the United States Office of Management and Budget
United States Office of Management and Budget
The Office of Management and Budget is a Cabinet-level office, and is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States .The current OMB Director is Jacob Lew.-History:...
rated ADF's programs fully "effective" under its Performance Assessment Rating Tool (PART) program, an efficiency recognition that has been accorded to less than 10 percent of United States Government grantmaking programs. ADF receives most of its programming resources from the United States Government, but it has also established strategic partnerships with African governments and private corporations to leverage the impact of its federal funding.
ADF programs
USADF's programs focus on supporting small local or community businesses and individuals. They support programs that will provide increased employment for their areas of service. The fund has two types of grants that applicants can apply for:- Enterprise Expansion Grants- enterprise expansion grants provide assistance for preexisting cooperatives, farmer associations, community groups, enterprises, or businesses that have developed a plan for expansion. The grants can amount to up to $250,000 and can last for up to 5 years. Applications for grants are reviewed by field staff of ADF that work on the ground in African countries. If a business or organization receives funding from the African Development fund they are eligible to work with partner organizations which will help them turn their plan into a reality by providing technical or managerial support or assistance.
- Operational Assistance Grants- operational assistance grants offer funding for preexisting cooperatives, farmer associations, community groups, enterprises, or businesses who plan to engage in technical, managerial, organizational improvements. The grants can amount to up to $100,000 over 2 years.
- Capacity Building- The ADF also apportions significant amounts of money for organizations that deliver technical, organizational, managerial services to businesses and organizations who receive funding from ADF. ADF believes that grant recipients will better utilize funding if they have the best technical, organizational, managerial, leadership skills possible. Organizations that help build capacity in local communities, or other local organizations are also eligible for ADF grants. ADF believes these organizations help ensure the success of initiatives ADF sponsors. According to its website ADF will provide $4 million dollars for capacity building organizations within 2011.