eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
The African Development Bank (AfDB), has secured US$32,8 billion in investment commitments for critical projects in Africa, according to the bank’s president, Dr Akinwumi Adesina.
Dr Adesina said this at the close of a highly successful indaba – Africa Investment Forum (AIF) on Thursday.
The largest deal secured at the three-day meeting was the US$15,6 billion for the Lagos-Abidjan mega highway, connecting West Africa’s two major cities in Nigeria and Ivory Coast, said Dr Adesina.
The highway of about 1 200 km, and to be lifeblood for the corridor, will have four to six lanes and should be completed in about six years, he said.
“Africa is a very bankable continent. We’ve gone through hard times because of the Covid-19 situation but here we are on a rebound,” said Dr Adesina. “Africa is back for investments.”
The projects, part of the bank’s Covid-19 response, touch on sectors including agriculture and agro-processing, education, energy and climate, healthcare, minerals and mining, and information and communications technology.
Covid 19 destroyed and in some cases completely destroyed some supply and value chains across the globe and virtue of its overreliance on the West, Africa arguably suffered most.
Among the deals, there was also a five-billion dollars’ facility for women-led businesses, and a $545 million mine project in the DRC that will be crucial for the global electric automobile industry.
On the risks involved, Dr Adesina guaranteed minimal risk despite the potential for high returns, asserting that the Investment Forum Africa (AIF) will ensure the best possible outcome for investments.
Dr Adesina said that on the health side, projects include a new medical city in Accra, a fund for health services for low-income populations in South Africa, and two platforms for manufacturing pharmaceutical products: one in West Africa and one in Kenya.
“We are seeing a lot of interest from the Private Sector, there’s also interest in the telecoms sector because the pandemic has demonstrated that enabling people to work remotely is quite important,” said Alain Ebobisse, chief executive officer of Africa50.
The forum was meant to be held late last year, but was postponed due to a surge of Omicron coronavirus variant infections.
At least 300 global investors, heads of states, ministers, and corporate leaders attended the Africa Development Bank’s two-day virtual Africa Investment Forum that was expected to yield at least US$58 billion worth of investment.
The forum, which ran from March 15-17, 2022, acts as Africa’s investment market place where different global stakeholders come together to discuss and close financial deals meant to bridge Africa’s investment gaps.
The forum was attended by at least 11 African heads of state, including Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, DRC’s Felix Tshisekedi, Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari, and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa.
During the last two such forums in 2018 and 2019, investment project deals worth a total of US$80 billion were closed, Dr Adesina said.
In this year’s deals, East Africa benefited from a US$3,3 billion railway corridor, linking Burundi with Tanzania.
