The 17th U.S.–Africa Business Summit, held in Luanda, Angola, from June 22 to 25, 2025, closed with more than $2.5 billion in new deals and commercial commitments, setting a new record for U.S.–Africa trade and investment engagement.

The event, hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa in partnership with the President of Angola, drew over 2,700 delegates, including 12 African heads of state and senior U.S. government officials, solidifying the summit’s status as a landmark gathering.

According to the U.S. Department of State, the summit embodied the American government’s commitment to deepening investment ties with African countries through private sector-led growth. The latest edition placed less emphasis on foreign aid and more on mobilizing commercial capital to build infrastructure, drive industrialization, and boost regional connectivity.

“This engagement reflects the United States’ commitment to treating African nations as peers and partners in achieving mutual prosperity through investment-led growth,” the Department said.

Several headline-grabbing announcements defined the summit’s outcomes. Florida-based Amer-Con Corporation signed a strategic partnership with Angola’s Cargo and Logistics Certification Regulatory Agency to construct and operate 22 grain silo terminals along the Lobito Corridor. The project, backed by the U.S. Export-Import Bank, is expected to significantly boost Angola’s food security and agricultural logistics capacity.

Another major deal came from Cybastion, a U.S. cybersecurity firm, which partnered with Angola Telecom to launch a $170 million infrastructure project aimed at expanding Angola’s digital backbone. The investment includes cybersecurity upgrades, digital literacy programs, and high-speed connectivity across underserved regions.

In Sierra Leone, CEC Africa signed a memorandum of understanding with American partners and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to build West Africa’s first U.S.-sourced liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. The facility will support the 108-megawatt Nant Power Project, enabling the delivery of affordable electricity for industrial and household use.

Another key announcement came from the Ruzizi III Holding Power Company, which confirmed a partnership with U.S.-based Anzana Electric Group to secure a 10 percent equity stake in a $760 million hydropower project spanning Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The project is expected to provide electricity to over 30 million people across the region, marking a major step forward in energy access and cross-border economic cooperation.

In Ethiopia, Ethiopia Investment Holdings signed an agreement with U.S. International Finance Partners to invest more than $200 million in tourism infrastructure, including luxury hotels and branded residences. The initiative reflects growing interest in Ethiopia’s economic diversification and tourism potential.

Meanwhile, energy infrastructure was a focal point of U.S.–Africa cooperation. A $1.5 billion agreement was reached between Hydro-Link and the Angolan government to construct a 1,150-kilometer electricity transmission line connecting hydropower plants in Angola to the mineral-rich Kolwezi region of the DRC. The project will enable the delivery of up to 1.2 gigawatts of power to support critical mining operations, helping to bridge the energy gap in one of the world’s most vital sources of cobalt and copper.

U.S. officials, led by Ambassador Troy Fitrell and senior representatives from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, the Export-Import Bank, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, emphasized that these agreements are designed not only to increase exports but also to facilitate mutual prosperity. The delegation reaffirmed President Trump’s Commercial Diplomacy Strategy for Africa, which aims to advance trade relationships rooted in shared interests.

What distinguishes this summit from past editions is the scale of private sector mobilization and the broad geographic distribution of deals across multiple African sub-regions. From energy and infrastructure to agriculture, digital technology, and tourism, the summit illustrated a shift in U.S. policy toward Africa—from donor-recipient dynamics to equal investment partnerships.

“The record turnout underscores a shared determination by U.S. and African leaders to dramatically scale trade and investment. The goal is not only to promote U.S. exports but also to create long-term economic partnerships across the continent,” the Department added.

The summit’s focus also aligned with the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which seeks to create a single market for goods and services across the continent. By improving logistics and digital infrastructure, and creating cross-border energy systems, many of the announced projects are expected to support the operationalization of AfCFTA and accelerate regional integration.

Beyond the headline deals, the summit underscored growing consensus among African leaders and U.S. investors that a collaborative, investment-driven approach is the key to unlocking Africa’s long-term potential. It also highlighted America’s intention to counter the influence of China and other global powers by offering more transparent, commercially viable investment alternatives.

In all, the 17th U.S.–Africa Business Summit delivered not only billions in investment pledges but also a blueprint for a more equitable economic relationship—anchored in trade, enterprise, and shared development. The challenge going forward will be turning memoranda of understanding into tangible projects that transform sectors and uplift communities across the continent.

The Federal Government of Nigeria spent a staggering N611.71 billion in March 2025 servicing its first-ever dollar-denominated bond issued within the domestic market, making it the largest single domestic debt service item for the month and highlighting the increasing strain foreign exchange-linked obligations are placing on the nation’s finances.

This was revealed in the Debt Management Office (DMO)’s report on actual domestic debt servicing for the first quarter of 2025. The report shows that the March payment alone accounted for 47.05% of the total N1.3 trillion spent servicing domestic debt that month, and 23.44% of the total N2.61 trillion spent during the entire quarter.

The bond in question was introduced in August 2024 under the $2 billion Domestic FGN USD Bond Programme. It attracted significant interest from local investors, raising over $900 million and becoming the first-ever foreign currency bond issued entirely within Nigeria’s borders.

Despite its domestic issuance, the instrument is dollar-denominated, meaning both interest and principal repayments are made in U.S. dollars or naira equivalents at prevailing exchange rates. This has become a key point of concern, particularly with the naira trading above N1,500 to the dollar.

The bond was 180% oversubscribed, later listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and FMDQ Exchange, and won the “West Africa Deal of the Year” award for its innovation and investor reception.

But the March payment paints a less celebratory picture. While the official interest due on March 6 was $44.97 million, converted at an exchange rate of N1,511.80/$, amounting to N67.99 billion, the DMO reported a total of N611.71 billion in debt service costs for the bond that month. The significant discrepancy suggests that the government may have redeemed part of the bond’s principal—possibly N543.72 billion—in addition to the scheduled interest, signaling an unexpected early repayment just seven months after issuance.

FX Risk Deepens Debt Strain

Although praised for providing a domestic alternative to Eurobond issuance and deepening local capital markets, the bond comes with a heavy cost: it introduces significant foreign exchange risk. Unlike traditional naira-denominated instruments, its repayment burden balloons every time the local currency weakens—essentially mirroring the pressure of external debt, even though the funds were raised locally.

By September 30, 2024, the bond had added N1.47 trillion to Nigeria’s domestic debt stock of N69.22 trillion, representing 2.12% of the total. As of March 31, 2025, the outstanding amount declined to N1.41 trillion, now just 1.88% of the N74.89 trillion revised domestic debt stock. This modest reduction masks a far more worrying trend: servicing such instruments under current FX conditions significantly worsens Nigeria’s fiscal stress.

Calls for Caution Over Currency Exposure

The March debt servicing cost for this one bond eclipsed interest payments on virtually all other domestic instruments combined, reigniting debate over Nigeria’s growing exposure to foreign currency liabilities—especially those tied to volatile exchange rates.

The bond was designed to attract dollar-holding institutional investors like pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and multinationals by offering a tax-free and relatively safe investment while allowing the government to raise foreign exchange without relying on volatile international markets. But with the naira in decline and oil revenues stagnant, that strategy now looks increasingly fragile.

According to debt experts, such instruments may have long-term appeal but require careful calibration against exchange rate movements, inflation, and revenue shortfalls. Servicing a dollar-denominated bond from naira-based revenue, especially in an environment of FX scarcity and monetary tightening, can significantly distort the government’s balance sheet.

Additionally, the dollar bond experiment underscores a bigger dilemma: while Nigeria seeks alternative funding sources, its structural dependence on FX-pegged debt—both external and now domestic—may be undermining its efforts to stabilize public finance.

Analysts warn that even if no new external borrowing is undertaken, dollar-denominated instruments issued locally carry nearly identical fiscal pressures as foreign debt. With Nigeria already facing record debt service-to-revenue ratios and external reserves under pressure, any FX-linked obligation—whether domestic or foreign—should be treated with extreme caution.

Furthermore, the bond’s servicing cost has overshadowed the government’s broader domestic debt servicing strategy for the quarter, which has typically relied on less volatile instruments such as FGN bonds, T-bills, and Sukuk.