Sydney Kawadza
The Africa Investment Forum’s 2021 Market Days have been slated for December 1-3 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire this year with the annual business gathering showcasing transformative investment opportunities across the African continent.
In a statement, the African Development Bank said many of the transformative investment opportunities hold the potential to drive Africa’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Invited participants to this third edition, including investors, project sponsors and decision-makers, will be presented with a pipeline of deals that are ready for investment.
The Market Days in December will be held in a hybrid format including boardroom sessions, where deals are agreed among those physically present, while other attendees will participate virtually.
“Discussions at Market Days 2021 will focus on many different sectors, notably: agriculture and agro-processing; energy and climate; health; ICT and telecommunication; and industrialization and trade.
“These are all sectors prioritized under the Africa Investment Forum’s Unified Response to Covid-19 initiative, launched in 2020.”
Boardroom sessions, where deals are finalized, will feature projects that are women-led; are in Africa’s creative industries; and promote financial, economic, and social sustainability.
“We look forward to welcoming investors to join us in Abidjan – and virtually around the world – to take the next step in Africa’s growth,” said Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President of the African Development Bank.
“To achieve this growth, however, and to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels, Africa will need significant financial support. As an example, the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa will need $425 billion in additional gross financing by 2030.”
The Africa Investment Forum is a multi-stakeholder, multi-disciplinary platform that advances private and public-private-partnership projects to bankability, raises capital, and accelerates deals to financial closure.
A flagship initiative of the AfDB, the Forum was launched in 2018 with seven other founding partners: Africa 50; the Africa Finance Corporation; the African Export-Import Bank; the Development Bank of Southern Africa; the Trade and Development Bank; the European Investment Bank; and the Islamic Development Bank.
