The return of Donald Trump to the White House heralds a critical juncture for African policymakers, business leaders, and investors. With the US now positioning its global engagement through the prism of strategic competition, particularly with China and Russia, Africa finds itself in an unprecedented position of leverage. The challenge, however, is not merely to attract engagement from Washington but to redefine the terms of that engagement, ensuring that it is no longer extractive, asymmetrical, or dictated by outdated development paradigms.
Historically, US-Africa relations have been anchored in a framework that prioritises aid flows, humanitarian interventions, and governance programmes over genuine investment partnerships. This legacy persists even as the continent increasingly integrates into global value chains, deepens intra-African trade, and attracts new strategic partners from the Gulf, Eurasia, and Asia. While Africa has long been framed as a ‘beneficiary’ of global capital, it is time to assert its position as an indispensable economic partner in the recalibration of global trade and investment flows.
For policymakers, the engagement with the Trump administration should be predicated on two guiding principles. First, Africa must engage the US as an equal investment partner, not as a passive recipient of goodwill. Second, the strategic competition between global powers must be harnessed to secure the best terms for African economies, ensuring that new relationships align with long-term developmental imperatives rather than short-term concessions.
One of the most strategic bargaining chips available to African economies is the continent’s unparalleled reserves of critical minerals, including cobalt, lithium, and rare earth elements that underpin the global energy transition. The US, in its bid to counter China’s near-monopoly on these supply chains, will be compelled to deepen its economic engagement with African markets. However, the terms of such engagement must be dictated by African governments and not Washington. Rather than facilitating the continued extraction of raw materials for processing elsewhere, Africa must insist on value addition, refining, and beneficiation taking place on the continent. This would not only generate employment but would also foster industrialisation and structural economic transformation.
For this to be viable, African policymakers should negotiate tax incentives, preferential access to financing, and risk mitigation frameworks that encourage US firms to establish processing plants and advanced manufacturing operations within African special economic zones and industrial hubs. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides an opportunity to leverage economies of scale, positioning the continent as a collective bloc rather than a fragmented market. Africa’s past engagement with Western investors has often been characterised by individual countries negotiating from positions of weakness. This must change.
Infrastructure is another critical area where Africa must set the agenda. The Trump administration’s likely attempt to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Africa should not be framed as a geopolitical tug-of-war but rather as an opportunity to extract maximum strategic benefit. US-backed infrastructure projects must be structured in ways that do not replicate the pitfalls of previous externally financed projects, including opaque agreements, unsustainable debt structures, and projects disconnected from national and regional development strategies.
African states should insist on joint ventures with local firms, clear technology transfer mechanisms, and the incorporation of African contractors into project execution. The continent must also take a more active role in shaping the governance of investment capital. Rather than being dictated to by external financiers, African institutions must be positioned as co-architects of infrastructure finance mechanisms, ensuring that sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and development finance institutions (DFIs) play a central role in co-investment structures.
Beyond trade and investment, the Trump administration’s approach to global health financing is a case study in why Africa must assert its autonomy in designing its healthcare financing and delivery systems. The recent suspension of funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has exposed the vulnerability of African health systems that are overly reliant on external funding streams. While PEPFAR has been instrumental in reversing the trajectory of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, its suspension has led to thousands of health workers being laid off, clinics shutting down, and a crisis of access to antiretroviral drugs.
Rather than simply lobbying for a resumption of funding, African leaders must use this moment to restructure health financing, prioritising domestic resource mobilisation, regional pharmaceutical manufacturing, and self-sufficiency in medical supply chains. The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, where Africa was left at the back of the queue for vaccines, should serve as a stark warning of the dangers of dependency. African states must push for US investment in regional vaccine and pharmaceutical production, ensuring that the continent is no longer at the mercy of external supply chains.
This is not to suggest that US-Africa engagement should be adversarial. The US remains a preferred development and investment partner in many African economies, and Washington’s relative strength in financial markets, technological innovation, and global governance institutions provides significant benefits. However, the nature of the engagement must be reframed. African policymakers must adopt a commercial diplomacy approach, where every engagement is assessed through the lens of investment, trade competitiveness, and economic self-determination.
Security partnerships must also be revisited. While the US remains a key player in counterterrorism initiatives in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, security cooperation must extend beyond military aid and counterinsurgency operations. The root causes of instability, including economic exclusion, youth unemployment, and lack of access to opportunities, must be at the centre of security dialogues. African nations must insist that security assistance be paired with economic investment, ensuring that counterterrorism strategies do not become long-term dependencies.
The shift in global power dynamics provides Africa with a historic opportunity to reassert itself as a critical node in the global economy. The continent’s young and rapidly growing population, increasing technological adoption, and untapped investment opportunities make it the next frontier for global capital. However, these advantages will only translate into real economic power if African governments approach international partnerships from a position of strength rather than deference.
The Trump administration’s transactional approach to foreign policy provides both risks and opportunities. If African leaders engage strategically, leveraging competition between global powers to secure the best outcomes, they can fundamentally alter the continent’s economic trajectory. But if old habits persist, where African states enter negotiations seeking favours rather than forging partnerships, the opportunity will be squandered.
Africa is no longer merely a recipient in the global economic order. It is an emerging power bloc in its own right, and its engagement with the US, China, or any other global player must reflect that reality. Now is the time for African leaders to act with confidence, assertiveness, and clarity of vision.
About the Author
Farai Ian Muvuti is the Chief Executive Officer of The Southern African Times, a 2023 Young Entrepreneur of the Year award winner by the South African Chamber of Commerce UK, and an advisor on the Board of the Africa Chamber of Commerce. He is a respected voice in African policy and business analysis and has contributed to Arise News, Al Jazeera, and the BBC.
