On September 15, 2001—just four days after 9/11—I walked into my new boarding school and saw the words “From the American People” under the USAID logo. In that moment, I decided—I was Team America for life.
Of course, most people can be forgiven for not realizing USAID’s work in Africa goes beyond funding political dissidents and forcing developing countries to decriminalize homosexuality. Partnerships like the one that built my school, Loyola Jesuit College, don’t happen that often anymore. So, when I read in Project 2025 that USAID might get shut down under a Trump Administration, I wasn’t surprised.
But the way they went about it was unnecessary cruel and foolish.
Take my firm’s experience for example. I am quite vocal about staying away from government money, but this $750,000 USAID milestone based grant made sense. It was meant to boost U.S. investment in Africa, and I took it for two simple reasons. One, I believe America is the best place for our companies to grow because it has the biggest pool of capital. Two, no one was better suited for the job. In the past 10 years, we’ve built and funded over 100 Delaware-based startups that raised over $2 billion from U.S. investors and are now worth over $6 billion. Other countries asked us to do the same for them, but I said no—America would be our only partner.
So imagine my shock when, less than 20 days before our next program, we got a vague “stop work” order from USAID. By then, we had sent out announcements, booked venues, and were just three days away from telling the finalists they made it into Accelerate Africa. I have informed our American colleagues while I am thankful for their support in times past, we cannot stop Accelerate Africa for anyone. We will simply have to go ahead without them. It has been a bit rough covering the financial losses involved but we trust God to provide. I silently mused to myself though that if the tables were turned we would have been branded a Nigerian fraud but it is what it is.
Now, I’m not mad about how the Trump administration chooses to spend US tax payers money. (Though, as the only non U.S. citizen in my family and given I own several American businesses, I pay those taxes too.) And let’s be real—America isn’t the first to cut foreign aid. Even the European countries complaining about USAID shutting down have been doing the exact same thing – cutting aid and making international development subservient to foreign policy goals.
But none of them were foolish enough do this so abruptly and disruptively in such a disrespectful manner. My situation was a small business issue but reading and seeing the life and death lurch in which it left people in real need was gut wrenching for me. It really didn’t have to be done this way.
This is not about money. This is about risking the one thing America cannot afford to lose with allies all over the world like myself – trust. An America whose word the world cannot trust will not be safe, strong or prosperous. To keep America first, America needs to be a country that keeps its word because an America that cannot keep its word does not deserve to lead the world.
There’s a saying: People might forget what you did, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel.
And honestly? I didn’t like how America made me feel these past few weeks. I always thought we were partners. But for a brief moment, I felt like a beggar, looking up at an unpredictable maniac with all the power.
The damage is done but one thing is for sure— by the grace of God we will do everything we can to never be in this position again.
Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, co-founder, Andela & Flutterwave, is the Founding Partner, Future Africa, and CEO, Accelerate Africa.
(Article republished with permission)
