Africa Investment Forum earmarks $3.79bn for 15 private sector projects in Nigeria, others 

Africa Investment Forum, a brainchild of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Monday announced it would commit $3.79 billion to 15 private sector projects in Nigeria and some other countries on the continent towards actualising its ambition of driving self-sufficiency and providing buffers against the weight of the coronavirus pandemic on the African economy.

“In a virtual marketplace which mirrored typical sessions of its annual Market-Days, the Africa Investment Forum convened over 190 participants including current and prospective partners, investors and project sponsors.

“The Forum showcased its Unified COVID-19 Response and provided an update on its activities, as well as opportunities for new partners and investors to engage with the platform,” Africa Investment Forum said of its recent conference in a note posted on the AfDB website.

It revealed 15 projects requiring urgent funding consideration in five sectors comprising Agriculture & Agro-Processing, Energy, Health, ICT & Telecoms and Industrial & Trade at the summit, with four project sponsors pitching their deals to more than a hundred investors.

Among the top proposed investments are a proprietary telemedicine platform in Nigeria, a dairy processing venture in Angola, vaccine manufacturing plant in Kenya and a cotton manufacturing project in Mozambique.

“Africa will come out of this pandemic, tough as it is, and will build better and stronger economies.

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“As partners of the Africa Investment Forum, the premier investment platform for Africa, our gaze must be clear; help Africa reboot its economy,” Akinwunmi Adesina, the AfDb head said at a two-day virtual meeting for Africa Investment Forum founding, institutional and knowledge partners on Friday.

The conference was held as the Africa Investment Forum resolves to advance the progress it has recorded in its first two years in facilitating projects capable of delivering transformation and expansion to Africa.

Chinelo Anohu, Head and Senior Director of the Africa Investment Forum, said “the Africa Investment Forum is not a talk shop. What we are trying to do is to focus our Partner’s efforts on the platform’s bankable deals from the 2018 and 2019 portfolio, as well as some new ones in 2020.”

She went further to say “we are concentrating not just on the health sector, but also on other sectors that will help jumpstart recovery across the continent,” adding that deals that are “more responsive” to the coronavirus crisis are in the pipeline to offer significant support to the private sector.

Up to date, the Africa Investment Forum has sealed 8 business pacts worth $2.18 billion from the 2018 portfolio.

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