No Accounting For Gaffes: Biden Mistakenly Vows $350 Billion for Africa’s Digital Economy
US President Joe Biden speaks at the US-Africa Business Forum during the US-Africa Leaders Summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC on December 14, 2022. 
Washington, DC has been hosting the second US-Africa leaders summit from 13-15 December, which came eight years after the first such event took place under the administration of former US president Barack Obama.On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden, speaking at the US-Africa Business Forum (part of the second US-Africa leaders summit), announced a new initiative for Africa aimed at helping people across the continent “participate in the digital economy.”Named “the Digital Transformation with Africa,” the initiative, according to Biden’s speech, would be worth $350 billion and “includes partnerships like a new collaboration between Microsoft and Viasat to bring in Internet access to 5 million Africans.”Soon after the event, however, the White House published the official transcript of the president’s speech, where $350 billion transformed into $350 million, with the sum announced by Biden being marked with strikethrough marking, meaning to fix what was apparently the president’s mistake.The US-Africa leaders summit takes place in Washington, DC from 13-15 December, with some 50 delegations from African countries and the African Union participating in the event. The first summit was held in August 2014, during former president Barack Obama’s tenure.
