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Over his time in office, President Obama鈥檚 engagement with sub-Saharan Africa has often seemed to be heavy on symbolism but light on substance.

The first African-American president gave a soaring speech on Africa鈥檚 need for strong institutions over strongmen in Ghana in 2009, he visited historical vestiges of the transatlantic slave trade in Ghana and then in Senegal in 2013, and he attended Nelson Mandela鈥檚 funeral in 2014.

Critics fault Mr. Obama for failing to offer Africa the kind of generously funded programs that President George W. Bush did with his President's聽Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief听(PEPFAR ) and the Millennium Challenge development initiative, and for ceding America鈥檚 preeminent place in Africa to a resource-hungry China.

But the Africa trip that Obama begins in Friday in Kenya 鈥� his paternal family鈥檚 home 鈥� before continuing on to Ethiopia offers him an opportunity to put his Africa policy on more concrete footing.

If it isn鈥檛 hijacked by the optics of Kenya鈥檚 most famous son returning to his roots, Obama鈥檚 fourth Africa trip as president presents a stage for him to lay out the more pragmatic policy he has developed for the continent in the homestretch of his presidency.

It鈥檚 a policy that is heavier on partnership and fostering homegrown entrepreneurship than on big-ticket aid programs, while moving away from the reliance on the聽symbolism of the administration鈥檚 early years, Africa analysts say.

鈥淥bama came into office as a symbol for Africa, being the first African-American president, but that generated very high expectations that in turn led to very deep disappointment when it turned out Africa was not the priority for the US that people expected,鈥� says Joseph Siegle, director of research at the National Defense University鈥檚 Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington. 鈥淭here have been echoes of this discussion of him being all symbolism when it comes to Africa throughout his presidency,鈥� he adds, 鈥渂ut I think we鈥檒l see him act to change that on this trip.鈥�

Expect to hear the word 鈥渓everaging鈥� a lot over the course of the trip, Dr. Siegle says. Whether it鈥檚 a discussion of encouraging African entrepreneurship with American seed money, addressing Africa鈥檚 electricity deficit through Obama鈥檚 Power Africa initiative, or US support for the African Union鈥檚 peacekeeping forces 鈥� an effort Obama will laud when he addresses the AU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 鈥� a theme of the trip will be helping Africans help themselves, he says.

鈥淭he administration鈥檚 goal is to build African capacities and support them rather than try to introduce new programs from the outside,鈥� Siegle says.

In the view of some, Obama鈥檚 initial reliance on symbolism over substance as he addressed Africa had more to do with the context Obama confronted when he entered office 鈥� a global economy on the precipice of collapse and US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

鈥淕iven that sub-Saharan Africa issues have to fight for a seat at the policy table even in the best of times, it is no surprise that the continent fell further off the administration鈥檚 radar, particularly during the president鈥檚 first term,鈥� says John Norris, executive director of the Sustainable Security and Peacebuilding Initiative at the Center for American Progress in Washington.

To some degree, it was a deteriorating security environment in a number of key African countries faced with the rise of Islamist extremism that prompted the administration to refocus on Africa, Mr. Norris says. He cites Somalia and the rise there of Al Shabab, the terrorist group that has extended its reach into neighboring Kenya, as one example.

But the fact that the United States was simply unable to deliver 鈥渢raditional big-ticket aid packages鈥� as it addressed a global economy in recession also 鈥渉elped push the administration toward a more sophisticated and mature approach,鈥� Norris says.

Power Africa 鈥� a program that devotes relatively small amounts of US financial aid and technical assistance to leverage much larger private-sector investment in Africa鈥檚 electrical infrastructure 鈥� is touted by administration officials as a prime example of Obama鈥檚 Africa policy.

Critics say Obama鈥檚 focus on pragmatic approaches to Africa has led him to play down the emphasis on democratization and human rights that has聽long been a hallmark of US Africa policy. Indeed, his decision to include Ethiopia in this trip drew howls of protest from human rights advocates who blast the Horn of Africa country as one of the continent鈥檚 most authoritarian regimes and worst violators of rights, particularly freedom of expression.

But visiting Ethiopia fits with Obama鈥檚 preference for engagement over isolation to try to bring about change. At the same time, his emphasis on pragmatism allows for melding key policy priorities for Africa with concerns like anti-corruption efforts and respect for human rights, some say.

This mix of priorities was on display at last year鈥檚 Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, the largest-ever gathering of African leaders in the US, experts say. Aside from Power Africa, that summit was also the launchpad for the administration鈥檚 security governance initiative, which the Defense University鈥檚 Siegle says aims to improve policing and security practices in countries 鈥� particularly ethnically diverse ones 鈥� to address the rising extremist threat.

That initiative includes a pointed emphasis on corruption and the role it plays in encouraging聽extremist ideology, Siegle says, adding that he expects a pragmatic Obama to underscore the corruption-extremism connection as he addresses African leaders on his trip.

鈥淎frica is growing 鈥� Kenya, in particular, is enjoying sustained economic growth 鈥� but this growth tends to be highly unequal鈥� and too often tied to corruption, Siegle says.

鈥淭he rising inequalities are a particularly strong rallying cry for armed violence,鈥� he adds. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e going to see Obama emphasize to Africans that democracy and security go hand in hand, that they can鈥檛 have one without the other."