the African Development Bank organized a workshop in Casablanca, Morocco, to present the Africa Investment Forum (AIF).
Third stage of a roadshow in North Africa after Tunis and Cairo, this presentation aimed to mobilize the actors of public and private investment. The objective of this meeting was to set up a bank of bankable projects upstream of the Africa Investment Forum, which will be held from 7 to 9 November in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Mohamed El Azizi, Director General of the African Development Bank for North Africa, delivered the opening address. In particular, he highlighted the purpose of this initiative for the Bank: “The AIF is a concrete response to the investment and development finance challenges facing Africa”. He was joined by Morocco’s country director, Leila Farah Mokaddem, who reiterated Morocco’s leading role in South-South investment, integration and cooperation dynamics.
Faouzia Zaaboul, Director of the Treasury and External Finance at the Moroccan Ministry of Economy and Finance, on behalf of the Kingdom authorities, outlined the development agenda of Morocco and highlighted the importance of this new approach to meeting the financing needs for investment in Africa: “Morocco is joining this new initiative of great interest. To meet financing needs and capital is not obvious. The Africa Investment Forum is a platform that will be able to respond by providing solutions. ”
Olivier Eweck, director of syndications, co-financing and client solutions at the Bank, gave a detailed presentation on the operation of the Africa Investment Forum. He highlighted the role of the AIF as a new investment platform through which the Bank, with the help of its partners, will help select projects, attract investors, and structure transactions to drive a new dynamic of investment. investment on the continent. “Through the AIF, we want to renew our ways of thinking and acting to bring investment to Africa at a higher level,” he said.
This was followed by an interactive exchange with the approximately 100 participants who attended the presentation and representing the main stakeholders in the investment ecosystem. Strong expectations were expressed for this initiative of the Bank, which was welcomed by all: “This new forum is an opportunity for us to improve the preparation of projects, to facilitate their structuring and to finance projects. transactions. We need to know the mechanism and the operation of this new platform to benefit from it “.
B2B meetings between different private sector operators followed the formal presentation, paving the way for fruitful networking between the Africa Investment Forum and the project leaders and investors.
The partnership between the Kingdom of Morocco and the African Development Bank Group, which has lasted for nearly half a century, has more than 160 projects and programs totaling a financial commitment of nearly $ 10 billion. This funding, of which more than 80% is dedicated to basic infrastructure, covers different sectors, including energy, water, transport, agriculture, and social development.
