Africa is one of the continents with numerous investment opportunities. This is because of the level of underdevelopment in so many of its countries. As a result of this, the Board of the African Development Bank (AFDB) launched a platform called African Investment Forum (AIF). AIF is a meeting place for investors that are interested in Africa. Its primary focus is to attract financing, bankable projects, and many other investments to the continent.
What is African Investment Forum?
Just as we earlier said, the African investment forum (AIF) serves as a platform for connecting investors. According to the words of AFDB “It will also serve as a unique forum for international business and social impact investors looking to transact and deploy funds in Africa and act as an avenue for connecting investors with both public and private sector projects throughout the continent.”
Senior Vice President Dr. Frannie Leautier, said “the AIF will coordinate with other Africa investment fora and work to strengthen collaborative efforts to crowd-in necessary investment and attract social impact financing to Africa.”
Who are the founding partners of the African Investment Forum?
The founders of the African Investment Forum include multilateral development banks and key development finance institutions. It includes the:
- African development bank
- Africa50 infrastructure fund
- Africa import-export bank
- European investment bank
- Africa Finance Corporation
- Development bank of South Africa
- Trade and development bank
- Lastly, Islamic development bank
Sections of the African investment forum
The African Investment Forum has the following sections:
The platform:
The platform is in charge of the overall organization of high-impact deals in Africa’s critical sectors. It coordinates the financing of projects and also provides other services through its advisors. Investors also have access to digital platforms to profile their investment preferences.
Market place:
The marketplace is a meeting between new and existing stakeholders which holds to deepen collaborations. The marketplace also diversifies the sponsor, partner base, and investors. It also helps to shape perceptions of involved personnel about investment opportunities in Africa.
The market days:
This is an annual event where project sponsors, investors, government officials, and other service providers meet. Transactional conversations are held during this event. Some event activities include boardroom meetings, deal galleries, entrepreneur pitching sessions, etc.
The deal tracker:
this is a system which was designed by the African investment forum to fulfil the following:
- Monitor the conversion of investment interests
- Capture projections on investment secured
- Lastly, facilitate the progress of deals towards financial close
How can I contact AIF?
The African Investment Forum is a body that handles investment across the continent. As a result of this, you can only contact them through the contact section on their official website. Follow the steps below to do this:
- Visit their official website at https://www.africainvestmentforum.com/en/about-us/contact-us
- Fill in the contact dialog by inputting your name, email, and other information requested.
- Type in your message in the message dialog and send
- The African investment forum would reach out to you with answers
Conclusion
The African investment forum so far has championed the investment sector in Africa as a continent. We cannot overestimate their work and impact as they have overseen steady growth across countries with previously low investment rates.