AfDB, AIF to attract $1.2tn investment to Africa

The African Development Bank plans to embark on a mobilisation of key stakeholders with a roadshow to put together a host of projects ahead of the African Investment Forum (AIF).

The event which is scheduled to hold in Abuja on July 10, 2018, is to herald the AIF−Africa’s own investment marketplace for enhanced economic transformation, which is slated for November 7-9 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The AfDB is working with multilateral institutions, the private sector, and governments, with the aim to helping Nigeria and other African countries to develop investment-ready projects for fund managers, investors, and others managing substantial assets.

Through the Africa Investment Forum, the AfDB and its partners will screen and enhance bankable projects, attract co-investors, and facilitate the business transactions to close Africa’s investment gaps, which is estimated at $200bn to $1.2tn a year.

Infrastructure financing needs alone are estimated at $130 to $170bn a year. Today, total commitments stand at just $63bn in 2016. This represents a financing gap of approximately $67 to $107bn a year, in just infrastructure.

Nigeria’s National Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) 2014-2044 estimates that the country needs about $3tn over the next 30 years to bridge its infrastructure financing gap. It is clear that traditional fund providers at different levels of government do not have the required resources.

The Abuja roadshow will include a briefing session, interaction with key industry players, and presentations from Nigeria’s senior Presidency and Finance Ministry officials on the country’s development priorities and project pipeline that could benefit from the AIF partnership.

External funding sources are therefore inevitable over the long-term. The roadshow is in line with the Bank’s continued efforts to support Nigeria and other African countries to accelerate the development of infrastructure.

The build-up to AIF kicked off with an official launch in South Africa on May 8. Speaking at the event, the Premier of the Gauteng Province, the host province of the inaugural AIF, David Makhura, endorsed the Forum as a world-class initiative that is uniquely positioned to transform the continent’s development