The nine founding partners have made even bigger and better events later this year, as last year’s successful market for the Africa Investment Forum generated $29.2 billion in investment interest.
The 2024 Africa Investment Forum Market Day attracted over 2,300 investors and participants from 83 countries around the world, featuring over 40 meeting rooms and 15 sponsors, including investment banks, insurance companies and export credit institutions. The 2025 edition features more sponsors.
On Monday evening in Washington, D.C., at a meeting at the IMF Spring Conference with World Bank bystanders, the partners reflected the amazing seven-year journey of the African Investment Forum.
Partners include African Development Bank Group, Affling Bank, Africa 50, African Finance Corporation, South African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, European Investment Bank, Trade Development Bank, and the Arab Bank for African Economic Development (BADEA).
Dr Akinomi Adesina, chairman of the African Development Bank Group and chairman of the African Investment Forum, added, “We have promoted Africa. We have introduced our perceptions about Africa. We have demonstrated our belief in Africa.”
“Africa is not developed through aid, it is developed through investment,” says the vision that has led the Africa Investment Forum platform since its launch in 2018.
The conference outlined how the platform has changed its perceptions of investment in Africa, while providing a high-quality trading pipeline. To date, 22 transactions have been closed, with 41% of funds provided by founding partners along with other institutional investors being closed.
The partners also discussed the African Investment Forum Partnership Framework to ensure the sustainability of the forum. The long-term governance and sustainability framework is expected to be officially signed at the annual general meeting of the African Development Bank in May in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
As Adesina prepares to close her tenure as chairman of the African Development Bank in September, he expressed his deep gratitude to his partners for their support and commitment to the African Investment Forum.
At Monday’s meeting, the partners unanimously committed to the African Investment Forum for their convening power to mobilize key investments in transformation projects across the continent.
Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa 50, spoke about the uniqueness of the forum. “We’re focusing on people who trade in the meeting room, not on speeches,” he added, “we’re ready to have more sponsors.”
“As Africans, we must take ownership of development. The African Investment Forum is an initiative to demonstrate that,” said Samaira Zubair, president and CEO of African Finance Corporation.
Boitumelo Mosako, CEO of South Africa’s Development Bank, repeated this by saying, “The only way to be certain about the future is to create it.”
Admassu Tadesse, Group President and Managing Director of Trade Development Bank, who praised last year’s Market Days event as “fantastic,” pointed to the strength of the Forum as a powerful global brand that promotes synergy between founding partners.
On behalf of Badea, the director of the private sector, Diab Kahler said that despite joining the Africa Investment Forum last year, they have always supported the initiative because “we believe it.”
Executive Vice President of Global Trade Bank, Haytham El Maayergi’s Afreximbank, has expressed a strong commitment to supporting the Africa Investment Forum.
Andrew McDowell, Director of the European Investment Bank Global, spoke about the importance of institutional collaboration to help make informed decisions about investment in Africa.
“It was my greatest honor to develop and advance the African Investment Forum with you,” declared Adesina. “Let’s continue to quickly track Africa’s development now and in the future!”
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