Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced on July 18, 2018 in Nairobi that his country would double its stake in Africa Africa’s pan-African infrastructure investment platform, bringing its current investment to $ 100 million.
“Kenya will double its investment in Africa50 to $ 100 million. We believe this investment is warranted, “said Kenyatta on the sidelines of the third general meeting of shareholders.
The Africa 50 fund plans to develop a 300-kilometer high-voltage transmission line construction project in western Kenya.
He launched an urgent appeal for the development and financing of bankable infrastructure projects to boost Africa’s growth. “The private sector needs to step up and help us bridge the infrastructure gap on the African continent. Public funding is limited and there are competing priorities, “he said.
In his opening remarks, Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group and Chairman of the Board of Africa50, said: “We must act quickly and urgently. Our people are waiting for nothing else. He stressed the importance of improving public-private partnership frameworks for infrastructure financing. “This is where the role of Africa50 becomes very important,” he said, calling on other countries that have not yet become shareholders of Africa50 to do so.
Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa50, thanked President Kenyatta and President Adesina for their presence and support, stressing the urgency of ending more infrastructure projects and meeting the continent’s growing needs.
I believe that a change to accelerate project implementation will occur when enough public and private sector stakeholders realize that the opportunity costs of late implementation of the project are too high. Doing nothing costs money, “said Ebobissé.
He explained that given Africa50’s flexible organization and rapid decision-making process, it has the capacity to respond quickly to the needs of its stakeholders and can deploy private and public capital throughout the project cycle.
After the opening ceremony, the shareholders met for an in camera session, where they reviewed the activities of Africa50 in 2017, approved its financial statements and engaged management in its long-term strategy. During the meeting, Rwanda officially joined Africa50, becoming the country’s 26th largest shareholder.
After two years of operation, Africa50 has become a key player in helping to bridge the continent’s estimated $ 108 billion infrastructure financing gap.
The fund raised more than $ 850 million in equity capital from shareholders including the African Development Bank, 26 African countries and 2 central banks.
Africa50 has made significant investments in a number of shareholder countries, including Egypt (400 megawatt solar plants), Nigeria (100 megawatt solar plants in Jigawa State) and Senegal (combined cycle thermal power plant). 120 megawatts).
