In a statement, the White House said it will work with Congress to provide the sum as well as an additional $450 million in loan financing.<\/p>\n
The initiative will be led by federal agencies including the State Department, USAID, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and the Department of Commerce. It consists of three pillars: supporting the digital economy and infrastructure, developing human capital and supporting a digital enabling environment.<\/p>\n
It is intended to support the organic growth of civil, government and private sector technologies, as well as increased harmonization of technology policy across the continent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith new technologies transforming the way Africans live and work, [Digital Transformation with Africa] DTA will foster an inclusive and resilient African digital ecosystem, led by African communities and built on an open, interoperable, reliable, and secure internet,\u201d the Biden administration said in a statement.<\/p>\n
It added: \u201cThis initiative will also seek to empower women and other marginalized people through and within the digital ecosystem. DTA aims to help countries rebuild economies impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and advance U.S. national security, diplomatic, commercial, and development priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n
News of the launch of the initiative follows the conclusion U.S.-Africa summit in Washington on Thursday, during which President Biden reiterated America\u2019s commitment to the continent. The summit is seen as part of a push by the U.S. to reassert itself in Africa and counter the influence of China.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfrican voices, African leadership, African innovation all are critical to addressing the most pressing global challenges and to realizing the vision we all share: a world that is free, a world that is open, prosperous, and secure,\u201d Biden said.<\/p>\n
He added that the administration will seek authority from Congress to lend $21 billion to the International Monetary Fund to provide access to financing for low- and middle-income countries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Biden administration launched an initiative that will provide Africa with $350 million to expand digital access and literacy and strengthen digital environments across the continent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12963,"featured_media":24203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,21],"tags":[7,26,22],"class_list":{"0":"post-24206","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-technology","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-technology"},"yoast_head":"\n