Africa is in great need of investments and infrastructure financing and the just concluded Africa Investment Forum in South Africa was the first step to go beyond talking and begin doing something, according to Akinwumi Adesina, the head of the African Development Bank.
Foreign aid alone, Adesina argued during the three-day forum in Johannesburg, would not develop Africa, but business and investments as well as clear goals and policies will.
At least seven heads of state and government joined about a thousand other Africans to discuss how Africa can attract financing needed to develop its infrastructure and re-position its economy.
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Africa is in need of between $130 billion and $170 billion yearly to develop its infrastructure at the same time over $131 billion sit with institutional investors looking for where to invest, Adesina said at the opening of the forum.
The problem is not money, but litany of challenges that prevent many from investing in Africa, including rampant corruption, legal bottlenecks and contractual agreements that can be defended in court.
The Africa Investment Forum was aimed at finding solutions not just lamenting the well known problems Africa has been grappling with for decades.
