Partnership Opportunity Delegations

Partnership Opportunity Delegations (PODs) are an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Global Partnerships (GP) that foster deeper collaboration and cooperation between the United States, countries of strategic importance, and the private sector. PODs are a scalable and tailorable mechanism to effectively and efficiently explore a wide range of potential partnerships and opportunities to collaborate on specific, discrete projects that advance policy priorities. Past PODs have explored partnership opportunities in Armenia, Tanzania, Ireland and Northern Ireland, Colombia, Myanmar, Ethiopia, St. Lucia, Paraguay, and Eswatini.

POD participants may include (but are not limited to) established companies, start-ups, educational institutions, creative industries, diasporans, investors, and ecosystem developers.  Through a POD, participants take part in facilitated introductions to the host country’s public and private sector leaders and gain a deeper understanding of available opportunities and witness first hand the potential promise and challenges of entering the host country market. The connections made during a visit between POD participants and host country leaders create the leverage needed to get mutually beneficial deals done.

Historically POD delegates traveled to the country for several days to explore opportunities in-person, but currently we are creating connections using virtual platforms as we build up to future in-person delegations.

If you are interested in participating in an upcoming POD or would like to learn more, please contact us at partnerships@state.gov.