Latest news with #Africa50
Zawya
04-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Africa Investment Forum Partners Sign Partnership Framework Agreement at African Bank Development Bank Group's 2025 Annual Meetings
On the sidelines of the African Development Bank Annual Meetings ( founding partners of the Africa Investment Forum signed a Partnership Framework Agreement, reinforcing their collective commitment to mobilize transformative investments across the African continent. The new framework creates a clearer partnership model that sets out the roles and benefits for the founding partners. It also opens the door for expansion to new partners, ensuring everyone benefits while increasing the Forum's overall impact. Launched in 2018, the Africa Investment Forum platform has solidified its standing as Africa's premier investment marketplace for global investors and has garnered nearly $225 billion in investment interest to date. Principals of the African Development Bank Group, Africa50, Africa Finance Corporation, Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) signed the agreement. The other partners are Trade and Development Bank, European Investment Bank, Islamic Development Bank and Afreximbank. Speaking at the signing ceremony, President of the African Development Bank Group and chairperson of the Africa Investment Forum, Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina said: "This agreement is a testament to our shared vision: that Africa will not be developed by aid, but by investment. The AIF has changed perceptions and proven that Africa is indeed a bankable destination." Dr Fahad Abdullah Aldossari, Chairman of BADEA's Board of Directors said: 'The signing of the AIF Framework Agreement marks a remarkable milestone to ascertain both effectiveness and efficiency as well as financial sustainability for AIF 2.0 in a bid to advance more projects to bankability and crowd-in transformative investments to the continent.' Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa 50 said: 'This signature marks our renewed commitment to support the objectives of the Africa Investment Forum, launched under the visionary leadership of President Adesina. It is a much-needed deal-making platform that helps strengthen collaborations and leverage innovative models to unlock private capital to accelerate the delivery of bankable projects on the continent. It is critical for African Institutions to support it'. 'As a Founding Partner, we are proud to see this initiative formally take shape. Through AIF, we've proven what Africa can achieve when we collaborate — building the continent's first investment platform that truly mobilizes capital for bankable, high-impact projects,' said Samaila Zubairu, President and CEO of Africa Finance Corporation. "We have to continue leveraging the AIF as a platform for capital mobilisation in Africa, to bridge the infrastructure funding gap in the continent," said DBSA's CEO Boitumelo Mosako. The signing of the Partnership Framework Agreement takes place ahead of what is expected to be an expanded and impactful Market Days 2025, to be held from 26 to 28 November 2025 in Rabat, Morocco. Market Days, the centerpiece of the Africa Investment Forum platform, brings together investors, deal sponsors and heads of government to advance transformational African projects toward financial close. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).
Arab News
29-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Saudi EXIM Bank targets African markets with 4 new MoUs
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is accelerating the expansion of its non-oil exports into African markets, with the Saudi Export-Import Bank securing four new strategic agreements to strengthen trade and investment ties across the continent. Saudi Export-Import Bank CEO Saad bin Abdulaziz Al-Khalb signed memoranda of understanding with Africa50, the Ghana Export-Import Bank, Blend International Limited, and Guinea's Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The deals were finalized on the sidelines of the African Development Bank Group's annual meetings, held in Côte d'Ivoire from May 26 to 30. The newly signed deals come as Saudi exports to Africa surged 20.6 percent year on year to SR7.84 billion ($2.09 billion) in March 2025, reflecting growing trade ties between the Kingdom and the continent. Al-Khalb said the bank's participation in the meetings aims to deepen international trade relations and forge partnerships that support Saudi non-oil export growth in African markets. The SPA report added: 'He stated that the memoranda of understanding are an extension of the bank's efforts to promote trade exchange, stimulate development projects, and enable local exporters to export their services and products to African markets through effective and extended partnerships, contributing to supporting sustainable development goals and enhancing economic integration.' He also described the gathering as a valuable opportunity to boost economic cooperation and engage with officials from export credit agencies and financial institutions across African countries. The agreements were signed by Saudi EXIM CEO Saad bin Abdulaziz Al-Khalb, along with Alain Ebobisse, CEO of Africa50; Sylvester Mensah, CEO of the Ghana Export-Import Bank; Ravi Gupta, managing director of Blend International Limited; and Ismail Nabeh, minister of planning and international cooperation of Guinea. The MoU with Africa50 is aimed at enhancing cooperation in infrastructure projects by partnering with Saudi companies. The agreement with the Ghana Export-Import Bank will focus on exploring cooperation opportunities and enhancing bilateral exports of services and products. Meanwhile, the MoU with Blend International Limited is aimed at targeting broader trade opportunities and international partnerships. The deal with Guinea's Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation seeks to bolster development projects and investment in priority sectors, enabling Saudi exports of engineering services and industrial supplies. Also, on the sidelines of the event, Al-Khalb and his delegation held in-depth discussions with leaders of several international financial institutions, focusing on expanding trade ties and boosting the flow of Saudi non-oil exports into African markets.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Africa looks to unleash local capital as US drives global uncertainty
African policymakers and bankers are exploring ways to unlock trillions of dollars tied up in the continent's institutional funds to build infrastructure amid growing uncertainty around international investment caused by erratic US trade policies. 'There is about $4 trillion in Africa, mostly in banks, pension funds and foreign reserves,' Samaila Zubairu, CEO of the Africa Finance Corporation, a Lagos-based multilateral lender, told Semafor during this week's Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, citing research by his institution. 'The issue is, how we get it to flow into projects.' The topic was a recurring talking point for business leaders during this week's conference, with the need to deploy local capital becoming more acute after the White House dismantled its main foreign aid body USAID, piling new pressure on African government finances. Ethiopis Tafara, vice president of the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank's private investment arm, told delegates there was a need to mobilize private capital to plug gaps left by the withdrawal of aid. Governments and the private sector need to engage in more dialogue, he said, to help administrations shore up the 'bankability' of projects that could not be funded with public money. Zubairu said AFC, which specializes in infrastructure development, is in talks with authorities in Angola, Botswana, and Kenya to replicate InfraCredit, a Nigerian credit institution that supports pension fund investments in infrastructure projects, with the west African country's sovereign wealth fund providing guarantees on local currency debt. AFC is an equity investor, along with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, which strengthens InfraCredit's capital base. African investors have long wanted to unlock private capital from existing institutional funds. The thinking is that if more domestically held capital supports major projects then the continent could draw larger pools of international funds at more favorable interest rates. In areas such as infrastructure, for example, Africa is estimated to have a $100 billion a year funding gap. One way to bridge that shortfall, analysts say, would be to unlock a larger portion of African funds, which have been concentrated in more conservative assets such as fixed income and treasury bills. 'Raising financing domestically for our critical infrastructure projects is a huge priority for our continent,' said Acha Leke, chairman of McKinsey's Africa group. 'We've estimated that if African pension funds doubled their current allocation to back such projects to 4%, this could unlock more than $20 billion of additional financing per year.' One institution that has had some success in changing that mix has been Africa50, a development finance platform that seeks to help tackle infrastructure gaps. Last year Africa50's Infrastructure Acceleration Fund announced it had raised $225 million, predominantly from African development banks and funds, and hopes to hit a $500 million target this year. Joseph Atta-Mensah, a senior fellow at the African Centre for Economic Transformation think tank in Accra has argued that Africa's relationship with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund must change in order to drive economic development. 'Africa needs to make the international financial infrastructure work in its favour,' he wrote in a London School of Economics blog. The continent 'needs a new global financial architecture — one that reduces dependence on expensive commercial debt and expands access to concessional finance,' Atta-Mensah wrote. 'Innovative instruments like debt-for-climate or debt-for-investment swaps can tie sustainability to solvency.' While private capital from angel investors has played a vital role in helping to build the foundation of Africa's startup investment space, it has been heavily reliant on international funds once the startups need venture capital. There's been a push to further professionalize and expand the impact of local angel investors, according to Fadilah Tchoumba, president of Africa Business Angels Network. 'We're really focusing on accelerating local capital participation by refining our key investment vehicles to give more potential investors confidence,' said Tchoumba. 'We've also doubled down on recruiting even more African angel investors to expand our local capital base while also building partnerships with domestic and international financial institutions to increase their impact.' Pension funds can be a catalyst for solving Africa's financing crisis, according to the Africa Private Capital Association. But encouraging capital allocators to deploy capital in Africa is a challenge. Sign in to access your portfolio
Arab News
20-04-2025
- Business
- Arab News
How African electrification can be expanded
Too often, the conversation about Africa's energy challenge focuses only on connecting end users. With about half of the people living in sub-Saharan Africa lacking access to electricity, and with four out of five in need of clean cooking solutions, extending electricity connections is indeed an urgent priority. But connecting households and businesses to power sources is only part of the solution. The other part is to ensure that energy supply is both dependable and affordable. Among Africans who do have access to an electricity grid, not even half can count on a reliable supply. Yet without dependable electricity, households and businesses cannot adopt lighting, stoves, computers, irrigation, farming equipment, sewing machines and other devices that could boost prosperity and improve living standards. This is one of the main reasons why electricity demand remains low across the continent. One of the keys to resolving Africa's electricity reliability and affordability challenges is greater investment in grids. The right investments in transmission can help stabilize the grid, reduce outages, improve efficiency and make better use of the lowest-cost sources of energy wherever they are on the continent. Without transmission, all other investments in electricity generation and household connections will likely end up underused. The cost of developing transmission projects is only a small part of the total outlays needed to deliver universal electricity access. The International Energy Agency estimates that sub-Saharan Africa needs annual energy access investments exceeding $30 billion per year between now and 2030 — more than eight times the $3.7 billion invested annually today. To mobilize higher investment in grids, African governments must engage the private sector. That means establishing clear, long-term regulatory and policy frameworks that will attract investors and reduce the cost of financing for new projects. As matters stand, nearly all transmission networks on the continent are operated and financed by state-owned utilities with limited financial resources. We know that this can work. In 2024, Africa's power sector achieved another year of double-digit growth, largely owing to rising private-sector participation. Now, the transmission buildout can follow the same recipe for success. African countries can also look to other developing and emerging-market economies for serviceable models. In Brazil, policy and regulatory reforms initiated in the 1990s opened the country's power networks to private investment. Since then, according to the International Energy Agency, transmission and distribution capacity has more than quadrupled, allowing Brazil to achieve universal electricity access. Public-private partnerships are crucial for closing the massive gaps that persist in energy infrastructure funding. Fatih Birol and Alain Ebobisse Similar models will soon make their debut in Africa. For example, Africa50, a multilateral infrastructure investor and asset manager created by African governments and the African Development Bank, and Power Grid Corporation of India, one of the world's largest transmission infrastructure developers and operators, have co-developed the Kenya Transmission Public-Private Partnership. In collaboration with the Kenyan government, the partnership aims to construct approximately 250 km of new transmission lines to channel renewable energy generated in northern regions to industrial hubs and demand centers in the country's west. Such public-private partnerships are crucial for closing the massive gaps that persist in energy infrastructure funding and implementation. Through regulatory reforms and risk-sharing mechanisms, private capital can help to advance projects that would be challenging to finance otherwise. India has benefited from such models ever since it started deregulating its power sector in 1998. The Tala Transmission project — a partnership between the state-owned Power Grid Corporation of India and Tata Power — is a prime example. Closer regional coordination is also essential. Investing in modern grid interconnectors allows electricity to be traded from countries with excess supply to those with not enough. Such networks can play a major role under emergency conditions, such as the devastating drought crippling Zambia's hydropower output. Already, 12 African countries in the West African Power Pool have permanently synchronized their grids and the South African Power Pool is developing several interconnector transmission lines to support greater integration. Still, Africa will need more dispatchers and planners to make full use of existing regional grid interconnections and lay the groundwork to commission new ones. Greater regional integration will also help investors derisk their projects by expanding their potential pool of customers. Africa will not achieve universal access to reliable electricity without significant investment in transmission infrastructure, but such investment will not materialize without fostering greater private sector participation. Globally, investment in the energy sector is growing, particularly in renewables, electrification and resilient grid infrastructure. But to capitalize on this trend, governments must lead with meaningful policy and regulatory changes. Countries like South Africa, Kenya and Morocco offer clear examples, having successfully attracted private sector energy investment by establishing long-term energy plans and targets, encouraging public-private partnerships and streamlining administrative processes. Developing and emerging-market economies can learn from one another. Those that have delivered near-universal access to electricity have done so by unlocking the necessary capital flows. This should be policymakers' top priority. Once you have secured reliable power, you can pursue economic development and start to improve hundreds of millions of lives.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Major company set to launch first region-wide off-grid power initiative — here's what it entails
Africa50 is setting up several green funds for $700 million, including the first region-wide initiative for power companies as part of regional governments' efforts to boost electricity access and shield against global warming, Bloomberg reported. The Casablanca, Morocco-based investment platform plans to invest — through the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa fund — $500 million in climate-friendly projects in sectors ranging from renewable energy to transportation, according to Africa50's head Alain Ebobisse, cited in the report. "You can catalyze $10 billion worth of investments," he said, adding that the first close would occur in the first half of the year. In a first for the continent, Africa50 also intends to create a $200 million fund for companies that provide distributed renewable energy, like solar-powered mini-grids and home systems, which will be known as Africa Solar Facility. Meanwhile, a Nigeria-focused fund for distributed renewable energy is in the works, Bloomberg explained. Africa50, which runs Africa50-Project Development, Africa50-Project Finance, and the Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, hopes to tap the $2.3 trillion held by African institutions, Ebobisse said. UN data shows that around 600 million Africans, or nearly half the continent's population, still lack reliable access to electricity, which limits the provision of basic services like healthcare and water. "We need to look at multiple sources of power generation. We need to look at in each country that we're focused on, each country that we're investing in: What is its comparative advantage?" Africa50's Chief Operating Officer Tshepidi Moremong said in a video shared on Facebook by Devex in late January. "Is it solar? Is it hydro? Is it gas to power?" A long-term growth opportunity for investors in Africa and beyond, the deployment of off-grid power infrastructure can help bridge the gap in energy access, improve the economic resilience of local communities by creating jobs in the sector, and, on a larger scale, secure the continent's position in the global transition to a low-carbon, environmentally friendly economy. "We invested in off grid in Africa since 2014 and still hanging in there with the skin of our teeth. Waves of support and enthusiasm have come and gone with mostly the same cast of characters and on the whole without real success," engineer and angel investor Tara Lindstedt wrote on LinkedIn. "Truly hope this time it happens." How often do you worry about your energy bills? Every day A few times a week A few times a month Only when I pay it Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Per Ebobisse, quoted by Bloomberg, Africa50 is about to complete the financing of Africa's first large-scale public-private partnership on electricity transmission lines and is set to pursue similar projects in Mozambique, Tanzania, and Gabon. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
