Africa Investment Forum unveils unified COVID-19 response

Founding partners of the Africa Investment Forum have unveiled a unified coronavirus response to support Africa's private sector.

In a virtual meeting held on July 17 for the forum's founding, institutional and knowledge partners, the Africa Investment Forum revealed 15 projects across five sectors for priority funding consideration under its unified coronavirus response.

The sectors include agriculture and agro-processing, energy, health, information and communications technology and telecoms, as well as industrial and trade.

Collectively, the 15 deals are from the forum's current portfolio and amount to $3.8 billion. They will help increase the continent's self-sufficiency and resilience against future shocks.

The founding partners said increased and decisive investment will be the channel for Africa's economic recovery post-coronavirus, and expressed confidence in the continent's potential to rebound from the ongoing health and economic crises.

"Africa will come out of this pandemic, tough as it is, and will build better and stronger economies. As partners of the Africa Investment Forum, the premier investment platform for Africa, our gaze must be clear; help Africa reboot its economy," said Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank.

Chinelo Anohu, the head and senior director of the Africa Investment Forum, pointed out "the forum is not a talk shop. What we are trying to do is to focus our partner's efforts on the platform's bankable deals from the 2018 and 2019 portfolio, as well as some new ones in 2020," she said.

"We are concentrating not just on the health sector, but also on other sectors that will help jumpstart recovery across the continent."

Anohu said deals "more responsive" to the pandemic are being curated, in order to provide much-needed support to the private sector.

Founding partners of the forum include: the African Development Bank, Africa 50, Africa Finance Corporation, African Export-Import Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa, Trade and Development Bank, European Investment Bank and Islamic Development Bank.

Institutional partners include development finance institutions, multilateral development banks, commercial banks and institutional investors.