JOHANNESBURG - The Africa Investment Forum will kick-off in Johannesburg on Wednesday, in a bid to provide an open platform to multilateral institutions, governments and the private sector to improve the pipeline of projects that can transform the continent.
The Forum will be attended by a number of Heads of State and government from across the African continent, including Joao Lourenco of Angola, Patrice Talon of Benin, Paul Biya of Cameroon, Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta, Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari and Paul Kagame of Rwanda, among others.
The inaugural Africa Investment Forum, an initiative of the African Development Bank (AfDB), will bring together project sponsors, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, private investors, policy makers, private equity firms, and heads of government to raise capital to advance Africa’s economic transformation agenda.
Although brimming with investment opportunities, AfDB said there is an urgent need to bridge the gap between Africa's available capital and bankable projects and that Africa's development needs will require an estimated U.S.$600 to U.S.$700 billion per annum.
AfDB is working with several global partners and stakeholders to make the African Investment Forum the springboard for African economic transformation, including the Gauteng government and National Treasury.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the keynote address at the welcome dinner preceding the inaugural session of the forum. The Presidency said that the forum complements government's various initiatives to support economic recovery, increase domestic and international investment and create and protect jobs.
Two weeks ago, Ramaphosa hosted an Investment Conference in which private sector companies pledged R290 billion to South Africa's economy over the next five years.