Published
March 06, 2026
The usually steady rhythm of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia was replaced by rolling motorcades, security perimeters, and an almost electric sense of purpose last month. In February, the city hosted the 39th African Union (AU) Heads of State Summit, the Africa Business Forum at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and multiple heads of state. Somewhere in the middle of it all, while stuck behind a convoy for Türkiye President Erdoğan’s arrival, our U.S. Chamber delegation moved from meeting to meeting, listening as African leaders described how they intend to shape the next decade.
From February 13–17, a dozen executives from Abbott, MSD (Merck), Google, Illumina, and Mastercard joined us as part of a business delegation led by Kendra Gaither, President of the Chamber’s U.S.-Africa Business Center. Our delegation’s goal was to dialogue with African leaders as they lay out how they intend to shape the next decade, and support U.S. commercial partnership opportunities that contribute to African priorities: primarily health; sanitation; workforce development; digital transformation; and strategic infrastructure.
U.S. Chamber Delegation with H.E. Constancia Gaspar, AU Ambassador to the United States (second from right).
Our team worked closely with the AU Ambassador to the United States, Constancia Gaspar, to expand our collaboration with the AU and participate in high-level engagements including Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) meetings on health financing and sovereignty, an African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) engagement on Africa’s Green Investment Initiative, sessions with the Africa Club of African multilateral financial institutions, events on the role of the private sector in delivering Agenda 2063, and a powerful forum with the Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD), a critical partner for our health and social impact companies.
The 39th AU Assembly itself felt different. Leaders moved from broad declarations to targeted action. Adopting the 2026 theme, “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063,” the heads of state launched the Africa Water Vision 2063 and Policy. They elevated the African Health Security and Sovereignty Agenda, backed by voluntary contributions to the Africa Epidemics Fund and a strengthened role for Africa CDC; reaffirmed Africa’s common position on UN Security Council reform; and reviewed AU participation in the G20. Leaders also welcomed the President Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi as AU Chair for 2026 and named the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali of Ethiopia as AU Champion for AI and Digital Health.
For citizens, these decisions will determine whether clinics have clean water, and if communities receive flood warnings in time. For businesses, they are a roadmap for responsible investment.
U.S. Chamber delegation with the Africa CDC team.
U.S. Chamber delegation with Ghana's Minister of Health, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh (center left).
Our delegation joined ministers of finance and health, the African Development Bank, and partners at Africa CDC’s High-Level Event on Finance-Health Collaboration. The discussion centered on expanding domestic fiscal space for health, utilizing external financing to bolster national systems, and treating health as a strategic economic investment. For companies, these debates directly shape how vaccines, diagnostics, and medicines are financed, procured, and eventually manufactured in Africa.
Our delegation also joined UNECA’s Africa Business Forum 2026 (ABF), which focused on the critical issue of jobs and innovation: 12 million young Africans enter the workforce each year, while only 3 million formal jobs are created annually. On the margins of the Forum, Google’s Regional Director for Africa, Charles Murito, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UNECA and a strategic technical agreement with the AU. Both agreements focus on upskilling, aiming to prepare a continent that will be home to one-third of the global workforce by 2050.
In addition, we attended “Spotlight on AI in Ethiopia,” hosted by U.S. Ambassador Erv Massinga, and attended by business executives, and African partners for a discussion on how AI and the cloud can expand connectivity, strengthen skills, support climate resilience, and foster responsible governance.
U.S. Chamber delegation with H.E. Sanda Ojiambo, the Executive Director of the UN Global Compact (second from right), at ABF2026.
Throughout the week, conversations centered around one throughline: African institutions want deeper, more structured engagement with U.S. business, but on mutual terms. The U.S. Chamber met with the AU Commissioner in charge of Trade, the inaugural Director General of the African Medicines Agency (AMA), the U.N. Global Compact, and engaged with Africa CDC Director General, AfCFTA Secretary General, and ministers from Burundi, Ethiopia, Morocco, Ghana, Tunisia, Tanzania, Nigeria, Algeria, and The Gambia on issues ranging from digital trade and sustainable health financing to workforce development and equality.
U.S. Chamber delegation meets with the Director General of the African Medicines Agency, Dr. Delese Mimi Darko (center left).
Looking back on this week in Addis, one conclusion stands out: this trip delivered member value; solidified relationships with key partners and institutions of the African Union; deepened our understanding of Africa’s health, digital, infrastructure, and climate agendas; and heard the consistent message that African leaders want U.S. businesses as long-term, responsive partners, not visitors.
U.S. Chamber delegation with Hon. Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Nigerian Minister of Trade, Industry, and Investment (center left).
The delegation reflected the story we aim to tell as a business community: When companies listen carefully and respond locally, they help build systems that give people more control, more opportunity, and more confidence in the future.
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