How U.S. Business Can Reclaim Ground in Africa

Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, the visionary co-founder behind two of Africa’s most successful tech unicorns, Andela and Flutterwave, recently made a striking assertion: America’s greatest foreign policy asset isn’t its government. It’s its business community. In a world where China dominates African infrastructure through state-directed investment, Aboyeji argues the United States must compete not with diplomats, but with doers.

And he has a bold policy proposal to match: Congress should offer enhanced foreign investment tax credits for U.S. companies that invest in African special economic zones (SEZs). The deal? A dollar-for-dollar U.S. tax credit for every $1 invested, provided the host African government contributes its own local perks, such as tax holidays, infrastructure access, or regulatory fast-tracking. It’s a win-win framework aimed at unleashing private enterprise, not just public lectures.

The Quiet Shift: Diplomats Are Being Judged on Deals

Though rarely publicized, a quiet revolution is already underway in how the U.S. engages Africa. State Department envoys are now being evaluated in part on the number of commercial agreements they help facilitate. This subtle metric shift reflects a broader recognition in Washington: American influence in Africa won’t be secured through aid packages and press statements alone. It must be earned through jobs, investment, and infrastructure, led by entrepreneurs who are building, not just visiting.

Why This Matters: The China Problem

For over two decades, China has poured billions into African roads, railways, and ports through its Belt and Road Initiative. But the fine print of these state-backed deals has often bred resentment. Many African nations now face unsustainable debt levels, opaque repayment terms, and limited local value creation. Infrastructure without innovation, or without jobs for African youth, has diminishing political returns.

This opens a narrow but critical window for the United States. Unlike China, the U.S. is home to the most dynamic startup ecosystem in the world. Its private sector, especially in tech, fintech, renewable energy, and healthcare, is well-positioned to partner with Africa’s rising generation of innovators. But what’s missing is a coherent incentive structure to bring American capital to African opportunity.

Aboyeji’s Vision: Use Tax Policy as Foreign Policy

Aboyeji’s proposal is as simple as it is powerful: use the U.S. tax code to reward American companies that build in Africa. Not just extractive ventures, but high-impact projects that create local jobs and infrastructure. In exchange for U.S. tax credits, companies must invest in African SEZs where host governments co-invest through their own incentives.

This model flips the traditional aid paradigm on its head. Rather than top-down development grants, it aligns U.S. strategic interests with entrepreneurial ambition. It builds the muscle of American business while delivering tangible value on the ground.

Imagine: A Houston-based energy startup receives a federal tax credit for building a green hydrogen plant in Kenya, while the Kenyan government fast-tracks permitting and waives import duties. A Chicago medtech company sets up a diagnostics lab in Rwanda, enabled by land grants and zero corporate tax for five years. A Texas AI firm builds a talent pipeline in Ghana with help from a local university and U.S. tax incentives. These aren’t hypotheticals, they are feasible, scalable projects that can reshape U.S.–Africa engagement.

What’s Next: A Policy in the Making

Momentum is building. Lawmakers and think tanks are actively exploring how to pilot this proposal. One concept under discussion is a “Tech Diplomacy Fund” - a public-private initiative that pairs tax credits with catalytic investment tools such as equity guarantees, first-loss capital, and U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) backing. Early trials could launch in select African innovation hubs, Lagos, Nairobi, Kigali, Cape Town, to measure returns and refine the model.

If successful, this new mechanism could catalyze billions in U.S. private-sector investment, elevating Africa as the next frontier for American enterprise. It would also offer Washington a long-overdue alternative to the bureaucratic, donor-driven paradigm that has too often failed to deliver lasting outcomes.

The Opportunity: Build Now or Lose Later

Africa’s population will double by 2050. Its cities are growing faster than almost anywhere else. Its entrepreneurs are hungry, its markets are mobile-first, and its governments are increasingly assertive. The continent is not waiting for handouts, it’s looking for partners.

U.S. business leaders, venture capitalists, and growth-stage founders have a chance to lead this pivot. The reward? Access to a booming consumer base, early-mover advantage in frontier markets, and a new class of government-backed incentives aligned with long-term strategic interests. As Aboyeji says, this is how the U.S. wins, not by sending more envoys, but by sending more builders.

This is the new diplomacy. And the first ones in will write the rules.