Africa 50 backed by Kenya and a new country-shareholder



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Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced on July 18, 2018 in Nairobi that his country would double its stake in the pan-African infrastructure investment platform Africa50, bringing its current investment to $ 100 million.

Kenya will double its investment in Africa50 to $ 100 million. We believe this investment is justified, "said Kenyatta on the sidelines of the third annual general meeting of shareholders.

The Africa 50 fund plans to develop a 300-volt high-voltage transmission line construction project. kilometers in western Kenya

He launched an urgent appeal for the development and financing of bankable infrastructure projects to boost Africa's growth. "The private sector needs to step up and help us bridge the infrastructure gap on the African continent. Public funding is limited and there are competing priorities, "he said.

In his opening address, Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group and Chairman of the Board of Directors Africa50 said: "We must act quickly and urgently. Our people are waiting for nothing else. He stressed the importance of improving public-private partnership frameworks for infrastructure financing. "This is where the role of Africa50 becomes very important," he said, calling on other countries that have not yet become shareholders of Africa50 to do so.

Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa50 Africa50, for its part, thanked President Kenyatta and President Adesina for their presence and support, stressing the urgency of ending more infrastructure projects and meeting the continent's growing needs.

I believe that a change to accelerate project implementation will occur when enough public and private sector stakeholders realize that the opportunity costs of late implementation of the project are too high. Doing nothing costs money, "said Ebobissé.

He explained that given Africa50's flexible organization and rapid decision-making process, it had the capacity to respond quickly to the needs of its stakeholders and could deploy private and public capital throughout the cycle.

After the opening ceremony, the shareholders met for an in camera session, where they reviewed the activities of Africa50 in 2017, approved its financial statements and engaged management in its long-term strategy. term. During the meeting, Rwanda officially joined Africa50, becoming the 26th African shareholder of the institution.

After two years of operation, Africa50 has become a key player in helping to bridge the financing gap continent estimated at $ 108 billion.

The fund raised more than $ 850 million in equity capital from its shareholders including the African Development Bank, 26 African countries and 2 central banks.

Africa50 carried out significant investments in a number of shareholder countries, including Egypt (400 megawatt solar plants), Nigeria (100 megawatt solar plants in Jigawa State) and Senegal (120 megawatt combined cycle thermal power plant).

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