The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Monday, May 19 signed a grant agreement to provide the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) with financial support in the amount of US $3.0 million over a three-year period under the US Power Africa Initiative.

The grant agreement was signed on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) in Kigali, Rwanda, by USAID's Assistant Administrator for Africa, Earl Gast, and ALSF Director, Stephen Karangizi.

The program is intended to support African countries in contract negotiation (power purchase agreements), including through the establishment of a consortium of law firms to facilitate capacity building and knowledge and expertise transfer initiatives.

The signature of the grant agreement took place within the margins of the High-Level Meeting held by the Facility, following the Annual Meeting of the Governing Council of the ALSF on the theme, "Addressing Capacity Gaps in Contract Negotiations: Four Years of the African Legal Support Facility.

The ALSF was established in 2010 in response to a call by African Ministers of Finance for assistance in three key areas; namely, commercial creditor litigation, the negotiation of complex commercial transactions, and capacity building.

Hosted by the AfDB, ALSF provides assistance to African countries to strengthen their legal expertise and negotiating capacity in debt management and litigation, natural resources and extractive industries management and contracting, investment agreements, and related commercial and business transactions.