Lomé, the capital of Togo, hosted the Infra for Africa forum and its General Assembly of shareholders over the past two days (July 3–4). Faure Gnassingbé, the president of Togo, served as the event’s patron during its inaugural year.
The forum, which brought together leaders from several industries, including banking, and had “Bankable, Scalable, Reproducible” as its overarching subject, concentrated on financing infrastructure in Africa.
With more organizations expected to join the first close, this historic partnership brings together a diverse group of influential stakeholders from 17 African Institutions, including sovereign wealth funds, banks, pension funds, asset managers, and retirement agencies, as well as two international institutional investors.
Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank, spoke at the signing ceremony on this historic occasion and stated that he strongly believes that for African institutional investors, this is the opportunity to shift the investment narrative on Africa.
It is remarkable and unprecedented to have 17 African institutions participate in such a transformative initiative to invest in an African infrastructure fund. With the Fund, we are positioning the Africa50 Group to play a lead role in helping to tap into the more than $98 trillion of global assets under management.”
The signing ceremony in Lomé, Togo, is a milestone for the continent as it pinpoints the awareness of a tech gap in Africa and the need to bridge it. Indeed, mobilizing such a significant number of African institutional investors is a first for an infrastructure fund in Africa. It demonstrates the continent’s determination to be in the driver’s seat while forging global partnerships to stimulate its economic growth.
An Obvious Gap
Even though its ecosystem shows itself as a dependent offshoot of the developed digital economies of the West, Africa lacks the infrastructure necessary to construct a sustainable digital economy.
To compete successfully in the global market, one must have the ability to develop, acquire, and adopt new technology. The significance of technology transfer, particularly to poor nations, has been recognized by numerous international forums and agreements on technology access and technological capacity building.
Another well-known fact is that the African continent has lagged behind in terms of technical development. Because other emerging nations are continually improving their own technological capacities and because the global marketplace has become more liberalized and competitive, Africa’s technological gap may be the reason for its ongoing economic decline.
The Infrastructure Acceleration Fund from Africa50 is a crucial tool for bridging the continent’s infrastructure financing gap. Transformative infrastructure projects in many different industries, including energy, transportation, telecommunications, and water, will be made possible by the institutional investors’ commitments.
NSIA’s priority focus on sustainable infrastructure aligns with the fund’s vision to positively contribute to the economic growth and development of the continent, including investing profitably, responsibly, and sustainably
Aminu Umar-Sadiq, CEO and Managing Director of the Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Fund
Growth Potential
Activities that include a lot of technology have better potential for learning and productivity, as well as more spillover effects. They consequently result in greater diffusion, higher quality, and faster capability expansion. Thus, a technology-intensive structure is more likely to provide more systemic learning and innovation benefits.
In terms of growth and competitiveness, a relatively small infusion of essential technological, informational, and financial support can have a huge impact. Foreign investors can contribute in numerous ways with regards to technical and architectural assistance, which can help catalyze potential comparative advantage.
Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, CEO of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), which is also investing in the fund, said, “BADEA’s investments are meant to have a meaningful impact on the economies of its partner countries across various sectors. Infrastructure has always been the main area of focus for BADEA. Africa is a region with tremendous potential and a key priority for us; we are therefore pleased to join a credible partner like Africa50 in this groundbreaking partnership to scale up infrastructure development on the continent.”
Serge Ekué, President of the West African Development Bank (BOAD), an investor in the Fund, said: “BOAD is always keen on supporting initiatives that help drive prosperity for the continent and scale the impact of our investments. We believe this fund will support the right infrastructure projects the continent needs to create opportunities for its youth and spur economic development.”
