The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) has presented 12 projects which require US$12 billion investment in 9 countries across the African continent.
NEPAD, in collaboration with GIZ, the German Development Agency, Black Lion Holdings, the London-based strategic advisory firm, and Petrolim Group, revealed that the projects are located in Benin Republic, Burundi, Congo DRC, Kenya, Niger, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The investors showcased the projects during the first day of AFCLive2017, Africa’s premier infrastructure summit that opened today, Monday 15th May 2017, in Abuja, Nigeria.
Hosted by the African Finance Corporation (AFC), the Summit stressed during the first day that partnerships are crucial to increasing deal flow to Africa in order to unlock critical infrastructure investments in the continent.
Andrew Alli, President and CEO of AFC, said that the international investment-grade multilateral finance institution whose mission it is to help bridge Africa’s significant infrastructure gap, organises the annual summit to harness the institution’s expertise, knowledge and experience in infrastructure financing to drive infrastructure investment in the continent.
“In 2017, as we celebrate 10 years of activity, we will focus on deal-making, with a view to leveraging public-private partnerships for continental infrastructure transformation,” Alli said in a news release on Monday.
Deloitte, the global consultancy and advisory firm, said in its publication, ‘Addressing Africa’s Infrastructure Challenges, that without infrastructure, Africa will not achieve the growth levels expected. The foremost advisers said that Infrastructure planning and investment are critical if Africa’s huge economic and developmental potential are to be realised. It added that sub-Saharan Africa alone needs up to US$93 billion annual investment in infrastructure over the next ten years to overhaul the regions infrastructure.
“About two-thirds or $60-billion of that is needed for entirely new infrastructure and $30-billion for the maintenance of existing infrastructure. Only about $25-billion annually is being spent on capital expenditure, leaving a substantial shortfall that has to be financed,” Deloitte said.
AFC has invested approximately US$4bn in projects across Africa. One of the objectives of the Summit is to develop new solutions to increase deal flow and fast track commercial projects in Africa. A recent UN report said that of the total US$2 trillion raised globally for infrastructure projects, only US$59bn was received in Africa, representing 3%.
By bringing financiers and investors alongside project developers and fund managers, AFC wants to ensure that more capital, both African and international, can be deployed towards addressing Africa’s pressing infrastructure needs.
