Africa50 is an investment platform established by African governments and the African Development Bank to mobilize finance for infrastructure mega-projects with significant development impact.
Prominent African and global institutional investors who attended the meeting signed underwriting agreements and letters of intent to commit funds to the $500 million African Infrastructure Acceleration Fund - the first private vehicle infrastructure platform launched by Africa50.
The fund will catalyze new investment flows to invest in critical infrastructure development across the African continent.
President Gnassingbé who was present at the event said: “There is a huge need for infrastructure across the continent, and this is indeed a condition for development. Without roads, bridges, airports, hospitals, schools, energy, communication networks and water supply, there is in fact no development possible in Africa”.
Gnassingbé said that infrastructure issues are at the heart of his country's development roadmap.
“Togo has assets, but to take advantage of them we need to invest in infrastructure,” said the Togolese president. He added: “The public sector finances more than 90% of infrastructure investment, but public spending will not be enough. The involvement of the private sector is essential”.
He emphasized that projects must be bankable to attract private investors. “Without a stable and consistent regulatory environment, it will not be possible to attract private capital”, he emphasized.
Adesina said Africa50 is rapidly playing a strategic role in bridging Africa's infrastructure funding gap, from energy to transport and logistics to digital infrastructure.
“Africa50 is doing an incredible job as an institution, developing projects for banking and project finance. The core of our work is to help close Africa's $68-$108 billion annual infrastructure funding gap.”
The CEO of Africa50, Alain Ebobissé, said that the institution is ready to take on the challenge of creating the necessary infrastructure for the growth of the African continent.
