The USADF measures grant success in terms of jobs created and sustained, household and enterprise incomes increased, and grantee organizations strengthened.

In 1983, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held hearings on the nominations of William Pickard, Patsy Blackshear, Charles Wells, Chester Crocker, and Frank Ruddy to the USADF Board of Directors.

The Senate confirmed the nominations that same year, during which the USADF Board held its first meeting at the offices of the Inter-American Foundation (IAF) in Virginia, USA.

In 1984, USADF began to develop its funding program in earnest in 1984, instituting the Foundation's grants-making processes for sourcing, selecting , and supporting community-led enterprise growth projects and monitoring and evaluation.

In 1994, In line with USADF's focus on promoting disability-inclusive development, the Foundation in 1994 brought together more than 60 persons with disabilities from 15 African countries in Kampala, Uganda.

One of the early post-1996 grantees was Gahaya Links, a handicraft cooperative started by two Rwandan sisters who returned from being in Tanzania as refugees, with a group of Hutu and Tutsi women sitting around a circle, talking and making baskets together.

The legislation significantly enhanced market access to the United States for sub-Saharan enterprises and organizations, including for USADF grantees that are increasingly export-ready and landing deals with major retailers such as Costco (cashews), Macy's (handicrafts), Target (shea butter cosmetics), and Whole Foods (textiles).

In 2004, President George W. Bush appointed Dr. Ephraim Batambuze and Jack Leslie to the USADF Board of Directors after the U.S. Senate confirmed their nominations.

The two joined USADF's leadership as the Foundation implemented new strategic initiatives to expand trade and investment opportunities between Africa and the United States and to provide African communities with resources to prevent HIV/AIDS and mitigate its social and economic impact.

In 2020, USADF expanded youth training and apprenticeship to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lagos State in Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, and Uganda.

Grantees have used these funds to, among other things, manage increased transport costs, decreased production capacity, and insufficient storage for inputs and inventory.

Additionally, USADF committed another $2 million to other sectors suitable to fight the pandemic's effects by providing off-grid energy solutions for rural health clinics and isolation and treatment centers and providing grants to support the development of a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Africa Coalition (alongside funding from the Western Union Foundation) to meet communities'  PPE needs.

2020 – With the creation and implementation of its youth entrepreneurship summit, held in Kenya in 2018 and Senegal in 2019, USADF scratched the surface of the potential of its convening power.

The Foundation enhanced its approach to leveraging its convening power in 2020, creating the Financing, Utilization, Networking in Development (FUND) Africa Summit.

More than 200 people participated in the inaugural FUND Africa Summit, held in August 2020, as a virtual event due to COVID-19-related travel and gathering restrictions.

FUND Africa provided a platform for notable speakers and subject matter experts to hold discussions with grantees on topics such as navigating the COVID-19 world, augmenting business models, and utilizing technology to find efficiency.

2021 – USADF and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) established the Africa Small Business Catalyst (ASBC) – a partnership to promote investments in technology, innovation, and entrepreneurial solutions in African countries.

2022 – USADF made several announcements, including on the margins of the 77th United Nations General Assembly and the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit President Biden hosted.

The signing of a five-year, $20 million co-funding partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation focused on youth entrepreneurship and SME strengthening via investment toolkits[4] B.

These investments improve lives and impact livelihoods while addressing some of Africa's biggest challenges around food insecurity, insufficient energy access, and unemployment, particularly among women and youth.

USADF utilizes 100 percent African staff and local partners on the ground across Africa, making it an agile, impactful, and innovative foreign assistance provider able to operate in areas that are often too remote or fragile to be reached by other U.S. government development agencies.

In Fiscal Year 2020, USADF awarded 253 new grants, investing primarily in early-stage agriculture, off-grid energy, and youth and women-led enterprises and skills training programs.

USADF's program efforts in Africa align closely with congressional priorities in development, trade and investment, youth and women economic empowerment, and the promotion of stability in fragile states and post-conflict regions.

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.

ELGs are awarded to groups that have built a strong organizational foundation and achieved significant revenue growth but are still considered too high-risk to secure traditional financing.