By Stanley Onyeka, Lagos
The Africa Investment Forum (AIF) 2024 Markets Days, Saturday, said it recorded a total of $29.2 billion in new investor interests after three days of boardroom discussions in Rabat, Morocco.
The AIF Chair and President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, was said to have described the amount as “truly outstanding”.
He added that this could be even higher as in addition to the 37 deals that were ready, there were still more investments that were being discussed and worked on.
Dr Adesina also informed that 2,300 investors and delegates from 83 countries had participated in this year’s Market Days, an increase of 60% over last year., according to the bank’s statement.
He was quoted as saying: “The waves of the Africa Investment Forum are cascading investment ripples from Africa to all parts of the world…I am proud that we have achieved for Africa.”
“Across 41 investment boardrooms, investors and project developers gathered to review, discuss and engage on 37 investment projects.
The projects varied from transport, power, energy, agribusiness, industry, mining, pharmaceuticals, private equity, tourism, urban infrastructure, water management and water and sanitation.”
Describing the AIF 2024 Market Days as a rich experience, he announced that the Forum has lined up 15 new sponsors, including banks, insurers and export credit agencies for next year, along with others who’ve expressed interest in joining as new partners.
“We are becoming a global investment movement for Africa,” he added and thanked the nine founding partners of the Forum.
They include Africa50, the Afreximbank, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Trade and Development Bank (TDB), and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (ABEDA).
He also expressed his deep gratitude to King Mohammed VI and the people of Morocco for hosting the event for the second year in succession.
It (Forum) is a major catalyst and a successful and unique platform for investment and for accelerating the transformation of Africa.
Transformation of Africa.
Morocco’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, praised the Forum’s achievements, saying: “It is a major catalyst and a successful and unique platform for investment and for accelerating the transformation of Africa.
“Investors came to Rabat to prospect, identify and invest in bankable projects, and say that Africa is open to business.”
She appealed to the African diaspora: “In Africa, the future is happening. We have good projects; we have energy and enthusiasm, and we have the money to finance your projects.”
Addressing journalists on the outcomes of the Market Days, Dr. Adesina revealed that many of the projects presented in the boardrooms received investor interest higher than estimated.
For example, he said, state representatives sought to mobilize $975 million for Nigeria’s Special Agro-Processing Zone (SAPZ), but the boardroom sessions garnered $4.8 billion.
Similarly, projects initiated by Morocco and the Democratic Republic of the Congo drew investor interest higher than initially targeted.
DBSA’s CEO, Boitumelo Mosako, attributed the success of this year’s Market Days to the strong collaboration among the founding partners, as well as the quality and size of investors that participated in the boardrooms.
“We have seen a growing strength in partnerships, we have seen innovations coming through and we are really looking forward to more Africa Investment Forum Market Days in the future,” she said.
The partners also spoke about the key successes and challenges of the Forum over the past five years, ranging from the task of developing bankable projects to perceived market risks and cost of capital, among others.
“It’s a very structured process that the Africa Investment Forum represents. It is not just the Market Days. It’s a lot of preparation that builds up to the Market Days,” said Admassu Tadesse, TDB Group President and Managing Director.
