On January 29th, 2026, WorldBoston hosted former US Ambassador to Ghana, Stephanie Sullivan and business attorney Kennedy Ukelegharanya for a panel discussion, moderated by the Dean of the Pardee School of Global Studies, Scott Taylor. This Great Decisions lecture examined the evolution of U.S. engagement with Africa by critically comparing decades of aid-led diplomacy with an emerging emphasis on trade, investment, and commercial partnership.
Ambassador Sullivan and Attorney Ukelegharanya began by focusing on how Africa has long relied on the United States for foreign aid, and that since USAID has been dismantled for over a year, Africa has had to look at different methods of boosting its economy to become more sustainably developed. Ambassador Sullivan spoke of the concept of commercial diplomacy, which focuses on trade over aid, and how private investments in Africa can be a potential method to close the development and financial gap. This type of transactional approach has been seen before with African countries signing trade agreements with countries like Russia and China, which brings up the question of whether or not the United States is too late to participate in the African market. Ambassador Sullivan and Attorney Ukelegharanya highly disagree with this idea of being late to the race, since they believe that Africa has the potential and capacity to build more within the continent.
Attorney Ukelegharanya emphasizes that while Africa has a huge economic market in minerals and natural resources, more investors should look into investing in the “digital economy” of Africa. He points to the rise in popularity of Nollywood and Afrobeats within the entertainment industry can attract more global attention and avenues for private investors. Attorney Ukelegharanya also discusses how numerous YouTubers and influencers have continuously revealed what day-to-day life looks like in African villages all across the continent, and how this type of media exposure puts Africa in a positive light that can attract investors from around the world.
There has always been a hesitation surrounding Africa and its potential with investment due to constant news headlines of conflict in African countries and with the American characteristic of being impatient with returns on investment. Ambassador Sullivan highlights how mass media portrays Africa as a continent filled with corruption, conflict, and instability which is what drives the hesitation U.S. investors have. The way Africa is portrayed within the global community only pushes the argument of how investment in Africa’s digital economy can significantly boost the continent's image and aspects of development.
The discussion also addressed the big question of whether African nations have the legal and institutional framework to sustain mass development in their economies while also protecting the interests of their private investors. Attorney Ukelegharanya brought up the rule of law several
times during the panel discussion, emphasizing the importance of whether African nations can uphold their own laws to improve the future of their citizens. Ukelegharanya recognizes that many African countries struggle with political stability as many government institutions are riddled with corruption, and believes that for growth to be made, there must be a reconstruction made within the governments. Ambassador Sullivan also commented about how African nations have attempted to model their governmental institutions of democracy through public elections, yet many still fail to uphold what democracy stands for. Ambassador Sullivan pointed out that this type of system instills a sense of “false democracy” in the young population that Africa has.
Africa has the youngest and fastest-growing population in the world, as Ambassador Sullivan stressed the urgency of harnessing this demographic advantage that the continent has. By investing in education, entrepreneurship, and employment opportunities for young people, African countries can drive long-term economic growth and reduce dependence on foreign assistance, once again reinforcing the idea of “trade over aid.”
During the Q&A portion of this panel discussion, the audience was allowed to ask questions relevant to the event’s topic, to which Ambassador Sullivan and Ukelegharanya took turns responding. The panelists received a question from a member of the audience, “How do you dissuade investors from pulling investments out of Africa earlier than is economically beneficial when they aren’t receiving returns on investment quick enough?” Ukelegharanya approached this question with a different perspective, instead of looking at the physical market for goods and services, he reiterates how the African entertainment industry can be a profitable market if it were to receive the right investments. Another question from the audience arose, “Does Africa have what it takes to develop in the right direction under many African countries current governments?” Ambassador Sullivan took this question, responding that incentivizing commercial trade through investments can help African countries democratize in the right way, leading to an environment where trade can be easily exchanged within the continent but also internationally.
As the panel discussion came to an end with final questions being answered by the panelists, Ambassador Sullivan and Ukelegharanya recognize that the ability to attract investors into the African markets is conditional on the infrastructure and democracy within each country. Through this Great Decisions event, topics such as U.S.-Africa engagement, technology, and business investment potential, were analyzed by experts in the field. In all, the panel concluded that a transactional relationship between the United States and Africa could benefit both continents if there is purpose, and that that relationship can arise from this type of commercial diplomacy.
