Africa Investment Forum 2019: "Africa's time is now!", says Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank

At the close on Wednesday of the second edition of the Africa Investment Forum in Johannesburg, African Development Bank president Akinwumi Adesina put the accent on current investment opportunities in Africa and on assuring young African entrepreneurs of the institution’s support.

During the closing ceremony of AIF 2019, held from 11 to 13 November in the economic capital of South Africa, President Adesina said, “The Africa Investment Forum is the work of a collective, of those who believe in the development of the continent. Africa’s time is now and we want to be more inspired and more determined than ever! You will soon see Africa at the top of the peak!”

The ceremony was attended by many leading figures from the public and private sectors including Nkhensani Kubayi-Ngubane, the South African Minister of Tourism; Alain Ebobissé, Executive Director of Africa50; Admassu Tadesse, President of the COMESA (Eastern and Southern Africa) Trade and Development Bank; Chinelu Anohu, Director of the Africa Investment Forum (AIF); and Sanjeev Gupta, Executive Director of Financial Services at Africa Finance Corporation.

Akinwumi Adesina took the opportunity to make a promise to institutional investors: “We are going to work even harder and we are going to be more and more dynamic.” The Bank President also pledged to devote significant time to young African entrepreneurs at the forthcoming Forum 2020. A timely commitment, in the opinion of Nkhensani Kubayi-Ngubane, who said “There are many young Africans with innovative ideas. We need to create a space like this, where they can present their projects.”

Alain Ebobissé shared this idea too: “The creation of the Forum has come at the right time to maintain momentum, make deals and generate more projects. The AIF will help us create synergies and develop partnerships. We will be strong in our partnerships; nobody will come close.”

Admassu Tadesse spoke in optimistic terms too: “We are part of the Forum’s wonderful progress. It is in the spirit of the free trade area (AfCFTA). We have conducted commercial transactions and we are developing our business in this spirit.”

In conclusion, the AIF Director, Chinelu Anohu, emphasized the fact that the Forum was intended to be “a platform for transformation, and that is why a symbiotic approach is needed. We have to work together to transform Africa. The most important thing today is to introduce a transaction dashboard. We will set this up to ensure that, in due course, the investment comes.

The Africa Investment Forum (AIF) is a market place for project developers, investors, borrowers, lenders, policy makers and public- and private-sector investors to encourage investment in Africa.

The second edition of the AIF was held from 11 to 13 November in Johannesburg, South Africa.