On Tuesday, July 13, the Africa Center convened for a private, off-the-record, discussion with Senior Director of the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) Ms. Chinelo Anohu. AIF, which is a flagship initiative of the African Development Bank in concert with other leading African development finance institutions, seeks to create a pipeline of bankable deals to present to investors in critical sectors across African markets and accelerate the progress of ongoing projects. The conversation was the first in a series of roundtable events set to take place between AIF and the Africa Center in an effort to promote the upcoming November 2021 Africa Investment Forum. Africa Center Director Amb. Rama Yade provided opening and closing remarks for the event.
Africa Center Senior Fellow Aubrey Hruby moderated the conversation, which centered around AIF’s African market strategy, the format of this year’s hybrid event currently scheduled for November, and AIF’s various sectoral priorities including the creative industries, women-led enterprises, environmental sustainability, and expanding African manufacturing capabilities. Participants included individuals from organizations such as US government agencies, the US Congress, venture capital firms, development finance institutions, and US and African companies.
AIF provides a three-pillar approach to promoting investment in Africa: (1) Advancing projects to bankable stage, by effective project preparation as well as efficient transaction advisory services that advances deals in the Africa Investment Forum pipeline; (2) capital raising to mobilize partners and investors, especially institutional investors, for increased co-financing; and (3) accelerating financial closure of deals through a coordinated approach.
The Africa Investment Forum will release further details regarding the 2021 Forum soon.
