Obama pledges millions to Africa for business, anti-violence efforts

By Nicole Duran, Nicole Duran

Published December 20, 2015

President Obama used his weekend trip to Africa to pledge millions of dollars in aid and loans that will help African countries develop their economies and fight violent extremism.

The U.S. will contribute $40 million before the fiscal year ends in September to counter violent extremism in East Africa. The administration also pledged $465 million in "new training, equipment, capacity building and enabling assistance to partners in Africa," according to a White House statement.

Obama will host a summit during the United Nations General Assembly at the end of September where participants will make "significant, new and concrete commitments to fill gaps in existing peacekeeping missions and plan for future ones" in Africa, according to the White House.

On the business side, the White House pledged to back up to $450 million in loans made to small and medium-sized businesses by Kenya's Equity Bank Group through the Overseas Private Investment Corp. The government's development finance institution is also considering funneling $100 million into Goldman Sachs' "10,000 Women" initiative, and a women's entrepreneur program of the International Finance Corp.