ADM III Business Networking Reception - Houston, TX

Established in 2009 by USAID and Western Union, the African Diaspora Marketplace promotes sustainable economic growth and job creation in Africa by supporting entrepreneurs with demonstrable connections to or experience in Africa, who have innovative and high impact start-ups or established businesses on the continent. Since its launch, ADM has held three rigorous business plan competitions to identify and provide support to the most promising entrepreneurs. ADM has awarded 34 eligible SMEs with matching grants to start or expand businesses in sub Saharan Africa, Libya, and Tunisia. Awardees work closely with ADM managers to identify and address their specific business challenges and leverage the ADM award into additional resources. An additional 850 Africa-based businesses have participated in business training and access to finance events through ADM. ADM aims to support the development of the entrepreneurship ecosystem by providing a platform to connect lenders and investors with entrepreneurs across the continent; ADM partners have held two SME banking forums and an SME investor pitch event, as well as related training and webinars to help entrepreneurs across Africa successfully access external financing. The ADM team also provides industry, trade and technology information to support business growth and innovation.