The African Development Bank (AfDB) and institutional investors have entered into US $67billion investment deals for African countries, the AfDB President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina said at the Africa Investment Forum 2019 held at Sandton City, Johannesburg, South Africa recently. The deals are expected to be closed during the Investment Meet. Dr Adesina said, of the total deals of US$ 67 billion, Central Africa would get US$ 14 billion, Southern Africa (US$ 36 billion), Western Africa (US$ 10 billion), Northern Africa (US$ 2.6 billion) and Eastern Africa (US$ 1.3 billion). Areas that would attract investments include infrastructure development, energy, water and sanitation, health, agribusiness and urban development.
Dwelling on the growth prospects of Africa, Dr. Adesina said that the performance for the whole of Africa has been satisfactory with 37 countries posting a growth rate upwards of 3%. Also, 10 of the fastest growing countries are in Africa, which he said, is a rare feat. Of late, Africa is receiving larger quantum of investment. But it has the potential to attract more given its strong raw material base. He also noted the slow but gradual pick – up in commodity prices, which would help most of the countries in the region. Referring to the huge infrastructure gap in the whole Africa, AfDB President underscored the need for channelizing annually between US$ 68 and US$ 100 billion to make the physical distribution of the region comparable to the best in the world.
