over 130 off-grid energy enterprises to help combat insufficient access to energy. On average, for every $10,000 USADF invests in off-grid energy enterprises, 79.3 people are connected to reliable electricity. Congress in 2019 passed into law the Global Fragility Act which focused on addressing the root causes of fragility and instability. Of USADF’s 21-country portfolio, 17 countries are classified as fragile or extremely fragile states by the OECD. USADF’s focus on supporting grassroots, community-led enterprises and its emphasis on youth and women entrepreneurs and development model dovetail with the Global Fragility Act’s requirement that “participatory, locally-led programs that empower marginalized groups such as youth and women” be a component of the Act’s Global Fragility Strategy. Since 2014, USADF has directly supported more than 300 youth entrepreneurs in 40 countries, providing them with a combined $6 million to launch and expand their businesses across Africa. These businessmen and women work across sectors, from health and education to IT and agribusiness to sell goods and services, create jobs, train youth, and increase incomes. A recent study of USADF’s youth entrepreneurship portfolio found that youth-led enterprise grantees in the Sahel reached an average of 12,570 beneficiaries or customers over the course of their grants and hired an average of 15 workers. In the Horn of Africa, youth enterprises reached 2,353 customers and hired an average of 273 workers. In the Great Lakes, USADF-funded youth entrepreneurs reached an average of 403 customers and hired an average of 9 workers. Types of USADF Grants USADF implements its model utilizing five primary grant types, which include: 1) Operational Assistance Grant (OAG) - Many community enterprises in Africa require initial capacity building prior to pursuing expansion. OAGs are awarded to groups with a potential for longer-term growth and business success but require business planning, technology assessment, management, and financial systems development, market research, training, and technical assistance to position themselves for follow-on investment. Outputs from the OAG are a business plan, improved production and products, a defined market opportunity, an investment plan, improved management capacity, and a fully auditable set of business records. OAG grants are one to two years long and range from $25,000 to $100,000. 2) Enterprise Expansion Grant (EEG) The EEG is the principal financing mechanism USADF utilizes to assist grantees with an established market and defined business strategy to scale up their activities. The purpose of the EEG is to assist grantees in