Today, U.S. Government officials visited Red River Foods—an American company based in Richmond, Virginia—to showcase the company’s recent $50 million investment in West Africa, and future opportunities to come. With $3 million in U.S. Government funding, Red River Foods is investing an additional $47 million to expand cashew processing facilities in West Africa for export to the United States.
This partnership with Red River Foods is a critical, climate-smart investment that responds to shifts in global supply chains arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, this American business shipped raw cashews from West Africa to Vietnam and India for processing before exporting them to the United States. This deal will support the livelihoods of about 11,000 West African farmers, generate more than $30 million in exports, and create an estimated 500 jobs.
Investments like this one advance the U.S. Government’s Prosper Africa Build Together Campaign, a targeted, long-term effort to energize and elevate the United States’ commitment to trade and investment with Africa. Through Prosper Africa, the U.S. Government is strengthening ties with its African partners through win-win investments that create jobs and build infrastructure across both African countries and the United States. By supporting American businesses with socially inclusive business models that benefit women, youth, and low-income communities, Prosper Africa is advancing the Biden-Harris Administration’s vision of a better future—a future of growing trade and investment that advances prosperity for all our nations by mobilizing capital, driving job creation, and fueling shared economic growth.
Red River Foods’ co-investment is one of numerous investments that Prosper Africa has supported through USAID’s West Africa Trade & Investment Hub, which has established a co-investment fund to attract $400 million of new private investment, create 60,000 jobs, and increase regional and international trade. Through co-investment partnerships, the U.S. Government is driving investment in West Africa, moving away from an extractive export model to one that adds greater value and fosters inclusive growth for African and American economies.
Prosper Africa is a U.S. Government initiative that connects U.S. and African businesses and investors with new trade and investment opportunities with the mission of driving sustainable growth across the continent, supporting economic recovery at home and creating jobs across all our nations as we Build Back Better Together.