The Roosevelt Africa Trail is moving beyond shared history towards practical economic action, following a high-level hybrid engagement at Uganda House in New York that brought together stakeholders from the United States, Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan to explore opportunities in trade, tourism, investment, technology and job creation.
Held under the theme “Shared Heritage, Shared Opportunity,” the engagement was co-hosted by the Permanent Mission of Uganda to the United Nations and the Roosevelt Africa Trail.
Speaking at the event, Ambassador Dan Negrea, U.S. Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), expressed optimism about the Trail’s potential to become a leading example of translating the emerging “Trade Over Aid” agenda into practical commercial partnerships.
The immediate next steps include continued engagement with Ambassador Negrea, congressional outreach in Washington, D.C., and targeted discussions with U.S. financial institutions, technology companies, investors and private-sector players.
The Roosevelt Africa Trail is built around the historical connection created by the 1909–1910 Smithsonian expedition of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, through East Africa.
Shortly after leaving the White House, Roosevelt travelled from New York with his son, Kermit, and a Smithsonian scientific team. The expedition took them through East Africa, including Kenya and Uganda, before continuing north along the Nile.
The expedition generated thousands of scientific specimens, photographs and field records that became part of American national collections. In Uganda, Roosevelt encountered the country’s people, landscapes and institutions, including the Kingdom of Buganda and Kabaka Daudi Chwa II.
More than a century later, the modern Roosevelt Africa Trail is seeking to reconnect that shared history with new opportunities in tourism, commerce, conservation, technology, investment and employment.
In 1909, the connection was built through exploration. In 2026, the ambition is to build on it through commerce.
The September 10 engagement comes at a time when U.S. diplomacy is placing increasing emphasis on trade, investment and private enterprise as instruments of international economic partnership under Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Against this backdrop, the Trail could provide a platform for connecting East African opportunities with U.S. export finance, commercial banks, investors and American companies operating in areas such as aviation, artificial intelligence, digital connectivity, hospitality, tourism infrastructure, agriculture, finance and heritage technology.
Uganda’s expanding aviation and tourism sectors offer some of the potential entry points. The expansion of Uganda Airlines and its Boeing aircraft links Uganda’s growing aviation and tourism ambitions with opportunities in American aerospace manufacturing, technology and professional services.
Similarly, Marriott’s growing presence in Uganda illustrates how increased tourism can create hospitality employment while generating commercial opportunities around an established American global brand.
The entry of Starlink, operated by U.S.-based SpaceX, into Uganda further demonstrates how American technology can participate in the country’s expanding digital economy.
Trade opportunities could also extend to Ugandan coffee and other value-added products entering American markets. Such trade has the potential to generate income for farmers, processors and exporters while creating business for U.S. importers, logistics companies, distributors and retailers.
The underlying proposition is straightforward: East Africa gains investment, technology, market access, visitors and jobs, while American companies gain customers, exports and new commercial opportunities.
The engagement also reflected growing political and institutional interest in the Trail.
Pastor Robert Kayanja, Chairman of the Roosevelt Africa Trail Uganda Advisory Board, delivered a message reflecting the positive interest of President Yoweri Museveni in the initiative and its socioeconomic potential.
His participation added weight to Uganda’s efforts to transform its historical, cultural and natural assets into platforms for tourism, investment, technology and enterprise.
Uganda was represented by Ambassador Godfrey Kwoba, Chargé d’Affaires of the Permanent Mission of Uganda to the United Nations, alongside Minister Counsellor Celia Nabeta, who has played a central coordinating role in advancing the engagement through Uganda’s Mission in New York.
They were joined by Ambassador Cecilia Adeng, Permanent Representative of South Sudan to the United Nations, and Ambassador Yabesh O. Monari, MBS, Deputy Permanent Representative of Kenya, reinforcing the Trail’s broader East African character.
Uganda’s private tourism sector was represented by Yogi Biriggwa of the Uganda Tourism Association, connecting the diplomatic discussions with the businesses that would ultimately receive and serve growing visitor markets.
Connecting North Dakota with East Africa
North Dakota is emerging as an important American anchor for the initiative because of its connection to Theodore Roosevelt and the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora.
Matt Briney, Chief Communications Officer of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, highlighted the shared heritage linking Roosevelt’s American story with East Africa.
North Dakota could provide a gateway connecting the Roosevelt Africa Trail with U.S. policymakers, businesses, investors, media, travellers and markets.
The same Roosevelt story connects the Badlands of North Dakota with the landscapes of East Africa. The opportunity now is to connect those histories with their respective economies.
For Joshua Sentongo, Director of Business Development and Strategy at the Roosevelt Africa Trail, the ultimate measure of success will not be the number of meetings held in New York or Washington, but whether the opportunities created reach ordinary Ugandans.
“For a coffee farmer, it can mean stronger markets and greater value for what they grow. For a young graduate, it can mean opportunities in tourism, technology, hospitality, aviation, conservation and the creative economy,” he said.
“For a tour guide, driver, hotel worker, restaurant, craft maker or small business, it can mean more visitors spending more money locally. When a tourist from North Dakota books a Ugandan safari, a Ugandan earns. When Ugandan coffee reaches an American consumer, farmers, processors, transporters and exporters participate.”
The September 10 engagement at Uganda House was therefore designed as a starting point rather than an endpoint. A key immediate step will be continued engagement and follow-up meetings with Ambassador Negrea, building on the Trade Over Aid discussion and exploring how the Roosevelt Africa Trail can translate diplomatic interest into practical U.S.–East Africa commercial opportunities.
This will run alongside congressional engagement in Washington, D.C., being advanced through North Dakota’s congressional delegation and other stakeholders, together with engagements facilitated through Uganda’s diplomatic representation in the United States.
The next phase will increasingly focus on practical questions: Which projects are ready? Which American companies can participate? Which opportunities could qualify for U.S. export finance? Which investors, financial institutions and technology companies should be brought to the table?
Alongside diplomatic and congressional engagement, a U.S. media and market campaign is being led by North Dakota media leader and strategic Midwest connector Scott Hennen. The campaign aims to take the Roosevelt Africa Trail story to American businesses, investors, travellers and consumers.
It will also promote future travel to East Africa and Trail-linked commercial propositions, including the emerging “Nile to North Dakota – Roosevelt Africa Safari Coffee” concept.
Ultimately, the success of the Roosevelt Africa Trail will be measured not simply by meetings held, but by projects financed, partnerships established, contracts signed, visitors attracted, products sold and jobs created on both sides of the Atlantic.