USTDA Acting Director Thomas R. Hardy Confirmed as Speaker for IAE 2027
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Thomas R. Hardy, Deputy Director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) performing the duties of Director, has been confirmed as a speaker at Invest in African Energy (IAE) 2027. His participation follows USTDA’s entry as an institutional partner of IAE 2027 in September, and will see the agency represented at its most senior level among the government delegations, development finance institutions and investors convening in Paris.
Under Hardy’s leadership, USTDA has increasingly prioritized Africa’s power sector. In 2026, the agency hosted three delegations of power sector officials from 13 countries across West, East, Central and Southern Africa, connecting them with U.S. companies working on grid security and modernizing transmission systems. The West African and East and Central African programs included a focus on integrating U.S.-made artificial intelligence solutions into grid control, citing Africa’s growing industrial and urban power demand.
USTDA has also expanded its role in the continent’s critical minerals sector. In February, at a high-level meeting in Cape Town on U.S. support for mining projects in sub-Saharan Africa, Hardy confirmed USTDA’s support for the Monte Muambe rare earths project in Mozambique’s Tete Province. The agency is funding a pre-feasibility study for the project, developed by Altona Rare Earths, to define its technical and financial pathway. “Securing access to rare earths is essential for America’s defense industrial base and our technological edge,” Hardy said in announcing the grant.
Power infrastructure and critical minerals both feature prominently on the IAE 2027 agenda, under the Grid Convergence and Strategic Minerals forums. The program opens on May 11 with a dedicated Business-to-Government Day, which structures direct engagement between African government delegations and international capital providers. The Investor Circle, anchored by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, will examine how national energy masterplans can be translated into investment-ready capex pipelines. USTDA’s presence gives delegates direct access to the agency funding feasibility work for energy and minerals projects across the continent.
Invest in African Energy 2027 takes place May 11–13 in Paris. The event convenes African governments, international investors, DFIs, project developers and energy companies for three days of capital allocation, deal-making and government-to-business engagement. For more information and to register, visit invest-africa-energy.com.