The African Development Foundation (ADF or USADF) is an independent United States Government agency and corporation that provides African-owned small enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa with investment capital to expand their production; develop new, high-value products; achieve profitability and sustainability; and trade in the global marketplace. Created by an Act of Congress in 1980, ADF began program operations in 1984. It has since provided financing to more than 1,600 businesses and community-based organizations. ADF's budget is funded through annual U.S. government appropriations for foreign operations, and it is governed by a board of directors that includes seven members who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. In 2005, the Office of Management and Budget rated ADF's programs fully "effective" under its Performance Assessment Rating Tool (PART) program, an efficiency recognition that has been accorded to less than 10 percent of United States Government grantmaking programs. ADF receives most of its programming resources from the United States Government, but it has also established strategic partnerships with African governments and private corporations to leverage the impact of its federal funding. ADF currently operates in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. The Foundation announced in April 2006 that it will also reinitiate program operations in Liberia.
