BRIDGE Africa Act
The BRIDGE Africa Act (Building Resilient Innovation, Digital Growth, and Entrepreneurship with Africa Act) would require the Secretary of State to create a comprehensive strategy to promote technology and entrepreneurship in Africa, and to convene a U.S.-led summit in Africa with allied and partner countries. The strategy, due within one year, would be developed with the Departments of Defense and Treasury and in consultation with U.S. Africa Command, and aimed at expanding partnerships, investments, and opportunities in advanced technology and AI across sectors such as finance, agriculture, health, energy, and education. The bill also requires a summit within one year, followed by a report within 180 days after the summit evaluating outcomes and recommending next steps. It defines key terms and lists a set of potential “covered countries” (including Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, Tunisia, plus others), and it authorizes funding as needed to carry out the Act. In short, the bill would formalize a U.S. government, interagency effort to stimulate Africa’s tech ecosystem through strategy development, international collaboration, and a high-level summit, with a governance and reporting framework and flexible funding to support implementation.
Key Points
- 1Strategy requirement and interagency coordination: Within one year, the Secretary of State must produce a strategy to increase U.S. cooperation with African allies on opportunities, investments, entrepreneurship, and partnerships in advanced technology and AI, in areas like finance, agriculture, health, energy, and education. This effort involves the Department of Defense, the Department of the Treasury, and U.S. Africa Command.
- 2Summit in Africa: Not later than one year after enactment, the Secretary of State must convene a summit in Africa with allies and partners to coordinate on the strategy’s contents and implementation, including areas of interest, resource integration, investment opportunities, and challenges.
- 3Summit participation and scope: The summit could include heads of state, defense, foreign relations, commerce, treasury, subject-matter experts, AI/tech entrepreneurs, development officials, and other appropriate representatives from covered and partner countries.
- 4Post-summit reporting and ongoing oversight: Within 180 days after the summit, the Secretary must submit a report analyzing summit outcomes, assessing whether to reconvene, and outlining findings on increasing investment in Africa’s technology sector, plus any other useful information.
- 5Definitions and scope: The bill defines “covered countries” (example list includes Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, Tunisia, and other regional allies/partners), “advanced technology,” “artificial intelligence,” and related terms, and it designates the relevant congressional committees for oversight.
- 6Funding authorization: The Act authorizes appropriations as needed to carry out its provisions, giving the executive branch flexibility to fund the strategy and summit activities.