The Africa Investment Forum's 2023 Market Days generated $34.82 billion in investment interest for infrastructure, agriculture, health, and creative industry projects.
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The three-day global event, with the theme “Unlocking African Value Chains,†ended on Friday in the Moroccan city of Marrakech, the event drew over 1,000 delegates from more than 60 countries.
“We are building a formidable powerhouse around investments in Africa, that will deliver transformative impacts on the lives of people. That is the bottom line of the Africa Investment Forum: investing to improve lives,†said African Development Bank Group President, and Chairperson of the Africa Investment Forum, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.
Among delegates were several African heads of state and government, including President Azali Assoumani of Comoros and current chair of the African Union, President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, Rwanda’s Prime Minister Eduoard Ngirente. Also in attendance was the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley.
The Africa Investment Forum is a multi-stakeholder platform focused on continental dealmaking and project facilitation between project sponsors, policy makers and investors. With this edition, the Forum has attracted nearly $180 billion in investment interest since it was launched in 2018.
Morocco’s Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills Younes Sekkouri, said the Forum underlined the critical importance of South-South partnerships and the crucial issue of financing infrastructure.
“Africa is at the forefront of international attention as one of the most dynamic and promising markets in the world…The Africa Investment Forum has been a turning point to explore these opportunities, discuss challenges and solutions and strengthen the partnerships necessary to realise our aspirations,†Sekkouri said.
Deals covered several sectors including the Mtwara-Mbamba Bay standard Gauge railway line in Tanzania, and the Mangapwani II Integrated Port in Zanzibar.
There were also deals in agri-business, renewable energy, creative industries and healthcare.
The African Development Bank also signed a Letter of Intent with Morocco’s sovereign wealth fund, the Mohammed VI Investment Fund, to support the private sector, especially small and medium-sized enterprises and infrastructure in Morocco.
The Africa Investment Forum founding partners are the African Development Bank Group, Africa50, Afreximbank, the Africa Finance Corporation, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the European Investment Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the Trade and Development Bank. ■