Every region in the world has its own way of developing its industries. Africa is no exception. But the continent is in a truly unique position because the projects that will be developed in the next decade will have a real transformative effect on Africa’s economy – continent wide. There is certainly no lack of superlatives during any discussion on potential projects; words such as “amazing,” “tremendous” or “opportunity” abound. Unlike any other continent on earth, upcoming developments in energy, infrastructure, healthcare or telecommunications are likely to be the building blocks for future economic growth in Africa.
Yet similarly, unlike any other continent on earth, the lack of fully bankable projects is also very apparent. “We just don’t see enough bankable projects that are ready to receive our investment and our financing,” says Alain Ebobissé, current Global Head of IFC InfraVentures.
Vital projects, whether it’s power stations, hospitals or highways, often struggle to move beyond the drawing board. “Early-stage project preparation is a perennial problem,” explains Patrick Dlamini, the CEO of the Development Bank of Southern Africa. “Often it would be beneficial if the private sector would contribute more during the early project stages, but they are understandably wary.” These urging MDBs and DFI’s to take bold and immediate steps to form institutional investor-public partnerships, to democratize GEMs2.0 data analytics access and exponentially increase private capital mobilization allocations and financing capacity, to close the climate and SDG investment and financing gap in Africa and EMDC’s.
