ADB/partners gear up for new heights at Investment Forum

Accra, Oct.17,
GNA – The second edition of the annual Africa Investment Forum will kick off in
Johannesburg, South Africa, in November, with development finance institutions
determined to tackle the continent’s infrastructure investment challenges and
advance Africa’s economic transformation agenda.

Africa
Investment Forum 2018 broke the mold for regional investments and offered
lessons about what can be done when multilateral development and finance
institutions decide to pull their resources together to deliver as one.

“When we laid
out our vision to tilt the flow of capital into Africa by convening the first
transaction-based investment forum, many thought it would all amount to
building castles in the air. One year down the road, the verdict is undisputed.
Africa’s investment opportunities are proving to be seriously attractive,” said
Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, convener of the
Forum.

The inaugural
forum powerfully demonstrated the Bank’s convening power and ability to rally
key development institutions, global and regional investors around the common
objective of fast-tracking Africa’s economic transformation.

The collective
resolve to tackle head-on Africa’s annual infrastructure investment gap,
estimated at between US$130 billion and US$170 billion, was on full display
during the opening ceremony.

“The inaugural
Africa Investment Forum witnessed an extraordinary level of engagement. The
conversation moved from talking about investment to advancing deals towards
financial closure. 2019 will validate and redefine the perception of investor
confidence regarding the African Continent,” said David Makhura, Premier of
Gauteng province in South Africa.

Heads of key
partner institutions include Patrick Dlamini, CEO, Development Bank of Southern
Africa, Professor Benedict Oramah, President, the Africa Export-Import Bank,
Dr. Bandar M. H. Hajjar, President, Islamic Development Bank; Admassu Tadesse,
President, Trade and Development Bank. The Forum’s founding partners also
include Alain Ebobisse, CEO, Africa 50; Mallam Samaila Zubairu, CEO, Africa
Finance Corporation.

For Alain
Ebobisse, CEO of Africa50, the continent is brimming with opportunities that
are waiting to be seized. “The Africa Investment Forum not only brings together
investors and stakeholders to initiate deals but can help close transactions
that would otherwise take months or years. In infrastructure, this makes a
significant difference since the financial and opportunity costs of project
delays are high.”

Africa’s
development challenges need a swift, bold, and robust response. Of the world’s
20 countries with the least access to electricity, 13 are in Africa. Investment
in the region of $43-55 billion per year is needed until 2030-2040 to meet
demand and provide universal access to power.

“The audacity
showed in South Africa last year, and the results in terms of investment and
deals closed will live long in the investor community’s memory,” Adesina tells
global investors on the hunt for yields and opportunities.

“We will be
reaching for new heights. Already, a robust pipeline of deals valued at
billions of US dollars, in energy, cross-border infrastructure and agriculture
will be tabled for discussion in the boardroom sessions,” he said.

Last year’s
Forum attracted 1,943 participants, representing 87 countries, and brought
together 400 investors from 52 countries.

The innovative
investment marketplace, brings together heads of state, project sponsors,
pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors.
Policymakers, private equity firms, and other key senior government officials
will also be present.

Africa
Investment Forum 2019 will run from November 11-13 in Johannesburg, South
Africa.

GNA