AfDB Partners African Countries to Bridge Continent’s Investment Gaps

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is billed to embark on a road-show in Abuja, to mobilise key stakeholders towards putting together a pipeline of bankable projects, ahead of the Africa Investment Forum (AIF), which is designed to bridge the continent’s investment gaps, particularly in infrastructure..

AIF represents Africa’s own investment marketplace for accelerated economic transformation.

The Abuja road-show, which precedes the AIF, will hold on July 10, 2018, while the investment forum is scheduled for between November 7 and 9 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Working with multilateral institutions, the private sector, and governments, the AfDB is helping Nigeria and other African countries to develop investment-ready projects for investors, fund managers and others managing substantial assets

Through the AIF, the Bank, and its partners will screen and enhance bankable projects, attract co-investors, and facilitate transactions to close Africa’s investment gaps, estimated at between US$200 billion to US$ 1.2 trillion a year.

Infrastructure financing needs alone are estimated at US $130 to $170 billion a year, with total commitments standing at just US$63 billion as at 2016, representing a financing gap of approximately US$ 67 to US$107 billion a year, in just infrastructure.

Nigeria’s National Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) 2014-2044 estimates that the country needs about US$ 3 trillion over the next 30 years to bridge its infrastructure financing gap.

The AfDB is convinced that traditional fund providers at different levels of government do not have the required resources, and believes that external funding sources are therefore inevitable over the long-term.

The Abuja road show 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.

The roadshow, the AfDB said, is in line with its 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 landscape.