JOHANNESBURG – The ANC in Gauteng on Wednesday, welcomed investors from across the globe who are taking part in the inaugural session of the African Development Bank’s Africa Investment Forum (AIF).
The AIF brings together thousands of 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. The event is through a partnership by the African Development Bank, the Gauteng government and National Treasury.
In a statement, the ANC said the provincial government in Gauteng has declared an affront to high unemployment. It said the injection of much needed investment into the provincial economy and the creation of a conducive environment for business to thrive will go a long way to address the most pertinent challenges facing the province.
"As a province that boasts state-of-the-art infrastructure for doing business and is rich in offering diverse cultural experience, we have no doubt that Gauteng citizens will extend a gesture of hospitality to guest from all over the world, who will not only call our province their home for the next three days, but will eventually see this as a strategic investment destination of choice," it said.
"The hosting of AIF is in line with Gauteng’s vision of becoming an integrated, economically inclusive and socially cohesive globally competitive city region."
The forum will be attended by at least 20 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.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver a keynote address at the welcome dinner on Wednesday night.