JSF has developed a suitable technical structure to develop USSA

In 1975, China’s GDP per capita was only $178 per year, ranking it 135th out of 150 countries worldwide, behind most African nations. The technologies and know-how transferred by the West, particularly by France—which was the first to extend a hand in 1978 through economic and technological cooperation—subsequently enabled China to develop rapidly.

Before considering such a plan for sub-Saharan Africa, several observations must be made. Official development assistance policies implemented by international institutions and funded by OECD countries have cost nearly $2 trillion without enabling the region’s industrialization. Today, no one seems truly committed to the industrialization of Sub-Saharan Africa.

It is not enough to express the will to do so in speeches for it to become a reality: the creation of an industrial product, as well as each of its component parts, sometimes requires thousands of hours of research and development and hundreds of patents filed by engineers. Yet neither the financial markets nor industrialized nations currently intend to bet on Sub-Saharan Africa.

Only a structured project such as the one led by JSF—one that guarantees both a return for investors and security for manufacturers, who could thus establish themselves in a growing market of over a billion people is likely to convince them.

But, if a country with solid industrial experience, such as the United States or France, were to spearhead a project of this nature, it would immediately be accused of having neocolonial ambitions. Conversely, a program led by a few African countries would arouse the suspicion of their neighbors, who would see it as an attempt to impose regional leadership and would refuse to join. As for the idea of an African political federation which would satisfy the egos of 48 heads of state, yet which each would wish to lead it seems unlikely, as every country fears ceding more sovereignty than the others. The persistent differences among the 27 countries of the European Union already illustrate this point. Even the most influential financial institutions and investment funds, whether generalist or specialized, lack the resources to manage a project of such scale and complexity. Major consulting firms might see this as an opportunity, but their structures would be ill-suited. Furthermore, this project, now known to thousands of economists worldwide, is the result of 15 years of extensive and costly applied research and foresight studies. Articles published in the press over the past five years attest to the intellectual property nature of the EUAS concept, the copying and exploitation of which are prohibited.

International, the firm Francis Journot Strategies & Finance (JSF) will bring together the world’s top talent. The high-level service provider thus formed will be technically equipped and perfectly suited to lead the ambitious United States of Sub-Saharan Africa (USSA) project and tackle the many challenges it entails. The conceptual maturity of the project and its DNA reinforce its credibility not only with financial markets but also with all stakeholders and partners. By meeting the expectations of African populations, the EUAS/USSA project will thus embody a future form of economic pan-Africanism that is both realistic and effective.