5 days ago
Africa has $4-trillion local capital available to fund infrastructure: AFC
African governments should turn to an estimated $4-trillion (R70.94-trillion) in capital held by domestic institutions like pension funds to develop much-needed local infrastructure as external funding sources wane, the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) said on Thursday.
Building railways and expanding power generation are major priorities for the continent as its population and economies grow, but traditional sources of funding such as foreign direct investment and official development assistance are proving "increasingly insufficient", the AFC said.
Higher interest rates globally, declining donor budgets and protectionist policies in advanced economies are further tightening the availability of funds, it said in a report.
"These developments underscore Africa's need for a more resilient and internally anchored financing strategy," said the financier, which is owned by African governments, multilateral lenders and private funds.
African governments are also struggling to find space within national budgets to pay for development projects as interest payments gobble up an ever-rising share, the report said.
