For Harris, it\u2019s not a piece of trivia but the driving force behind the stepped-up U.S. outreach to African countries. Washington is racing to build partnerships on the oldest inhabited continent with the youngest population, a test that could reshape the economy in Africa and, by extension, the rest of the world.<\/p>\n
In the near future, \u201c1 in 4 people on this earth will be on this continent,\u201d Harris said during a conversation with reporters. \u201cJust on that alone \u2014 the demographics of it all alone \u2014 if you put aside the present and the past, if we are to be forward-looking in terms of national policies and priorities, we have to look at this continent.\u201d<\/p>\n
As part of that effort, Harris on Wednesday announced more than $1 billion in public and private money for women\u2019s economic empowerment. The money is expected to come from a mix of nonprofit foundations, private companies and the U.S. government, and it\u2019s intended to expand access to digital services, provide job training and support entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n
Harris made the announcement during a meeting with six Ghanaian female entrepreneurs. It was her final event in Ghana before she left for Tanzania, where she arrived Wednesday evening, as part of a weeklong Africa tour that will also take her to Zambia.<\/p>\n
She called the women at the table \u201ca model for the potential of all people,\u201d and said that \u201cthe well-being of women will be a reflection of the well-being of all of society.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris is the highest-profile member of President Joe Biden\u2019s administration to visit Africa this year. While in Ghana, she paid particular attention to economic development and young people.<\/p>\n
She visited a skate park and recording studio, released a Spotify playlist of African musicians, spoken before thousands of young people, and invited celebrities, civil rights leaders and businesspeople to join her at a banquet in her honor.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a carefully calibrated campaign to reframe how Americans view opportunities in Africa, something that senior officials from Harris\u2019 office described as central to her goals for the trip. New investments could not only benefit U.S. businesses but also alleviate one of the most pressing challenges here.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t find jobs \u2014 because that\u2019s what it\u2019s about \u2014 for this growing young population, it will be dangerous for the political stability on the continent,\u201d said Rama Yade, senior director of the Atlantic Council\u2019s Africa Center. \u201cBecause they will attack the institutions if they don\u2019t have the means for living.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her vision, officials said, was a trip centered around youth, women and innovation, rather than the humanitarian assistance that often characterizes American perception of Africa.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a vision that requires money, and the desire for investment was on full display during a state banquet Monday at Ghana\u2019s presidential palace where Hollywood stars Spike Lee, Idris Elba and Rosario Dawson were among the attendees.<\/p>\n
Although the atmosphere was festive, the message was all business. A large screen at the far end of the banquet tent showed a computer-generated animation of future development in Accra, a vision of a modern African metropolis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re encouraged by the fact that more American companies than ever are looking to invest in Ghana,\u201d said President Nana Akufo-Addo. \u201cAnd we will continue to create and maintain the conducive investment atmosphere that will not only guarantee the safety of their investments, but good returns on those investments as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
By diversifying the country\u2019s economy beyond exporting natural resources, Akufo-Addo said, he envisioned \u201ca Ghana beyond aid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ghana is being squeezed by skyrocketing inflation and a bulging debt burden. Akufo-Addo noted the impact of \u201cpernicious developments\u201d such as the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to work together to change the African narrative, which has been characterized largely by a concentration on disease, hunger, poverty and illegal mass migration,\u201d he said. \u201cTogether, we must help make Africa the place for investment, progress and prosperity.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a change that Harris is eager to help foster.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we face real challenges, I look around tonight and I am truly more optimistic than ever,\u201d Harris said in her banquet toast. \u201cAnd I know that by working together, the United States and Ghana, alongside the diaspora and the people of this beautiful continent, will share and share our future for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris\u2019 husband, Doug Emhoff, joined the effort. He went to a girls basketball clinic and spoke with students at a town hall discussion with the cast of the local television series \u201cYou Only Live Once,\u201d which addresses public health issues and other challenges facing Ghanaian youth.<\/p>\n
Emhoff said the message was about \u201chaving confidence in yourself to know that you can do whatever you want to do in this world.\u201d<\/p>\n
But that hope for the future isn\u2019t necessarily widespread.<\/p>\n
Adwoa Brentuo, who graduated four years ago with a degree in information science, is one of many who fear their education was no help.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have now given up about getting a job because they are nonexistent,\u201d she said. \u201cI have also realized that writing applications have become a waste of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ghana\u2019s minister of youth and sports, Mustapha Yussif, estimated that only 1 out of 10 college graduates gets a job.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rest will not be able to get any employment for a long time,\u201d Yussif said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a problem across the continent. The African Development Bank estimates that there are on average about 11 million people entering the job market while at the same time only about 3 million jobs are created.<\/p>\n
Harris has tried to seek out bright spots in Africa during her trip, finding one of them at Vibrate Studio in Accra, a hub for young artists with a recording studio and music business program. Names of supporters such as Kendrick Lamar and the late fashion designer Virgil Abloh are written on the outside of the sunny yellow building.<\/p>\n
At the adjacent skate park, young people glided back and forth as Harris arrived, their boards occasionally clattering against the pavement.<\/p>\n
Inside, a staff member said that teenagers can learn topics like accounting in addition to recording music.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are all learning from scratch,\u201d the staff member told Harris. \u201cLet us hope for the next generation in here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has a favorite number on her trip to Africa, it\u2019s undoubtedly 19. That\u2019s the median age in Africa, and she repeats the fact at every opportunity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12963,"featured_media":28189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,15],"tags":[7,26,25],"class_list":{"0":"post-28192","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-politics","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-politics"},"yoast_head":"\n