Partners of the Africa Investment Forum said the increased and decisive investment will be the channel for Africa’s economic recovery post-COVID-19.
The partners expressed their confidence in Africa’s potential to recover from the ongoing crises in the economy and health.
“Africa will come out of this pandemic, tough as it is, and will build better and stronger economies. As partners of the Africa Investment Forum, the premier investment platform for Africa, our gaze must be clear; help Africa reboot its economy,” said African Development Bank President Dr Akinwumi Adesina, during a two-day virtual meeting for Africa Investment Forum founding, institutional and knowledge partners.
During the virtual meeting, the Africa Investment Forum revealed 15 projects under its Unified COVID-19 Response identified across five sectors for priority funding consideration. The five sectors include energy, agriculture and agro-processing, health, ICT and telecoms and industrial and trade.
The 15 deals are from the forum’s current portfolio which amounts to US$3.79B and will help the continent increase self-sufficiency and resistance against future shocks.
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“The Africa Investment Forum is not a talk shop. What we are trying to do is to focus our Partner’s efforts on the platform’s bankable deals from the 2018 and 2019 portfolio, as well as some new ones in 2020,” said Chinelo Anohu, Head and Senior Director of the Africa Investment Forum.
“We are concentrating not just on the health sector, but also on other sectors that will help jumpstart recovery across the continent,” she said, adding that deals “more responsive” to the pandemic are being curated, in order to provide much-needed support to the private sector.
Through its Deal Tracker mechanism, the Africa Investment Forum’s continues to support project sponsors beyond boardroom meetings. The Deal Tracker mechanism monitors the conversion of investment interests to financing commitments and facilitates the progress of deals towards financial close.
The forum led by the African Development Bank and its founding and institutional partners is working to accelerate the closure of Africa’s investment gaps.
Its founding partners are African Development Bank, Trade and Development Bank, Africa Finance Corporation; African Export-Import Bank, Africa 50, Development Bank of Southern Africa, European Investment Bank and Islamic Development Bank.
Original article on The Exchange