The G7 Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) have announced a commitment to invest $80 billion in Africa\u2019s private sector, over the next five years, to support sustainable economic recovery and growth in the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n
A statement by the African Development Bank (AfDB), said the G7 DFIs made the announcement along with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the AfDB, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the European Investment Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n
It is the first time the G7 DFIs have come together to make a collective partnership commitment to the African continent, according to the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n
Each DFI has its own investment criteria which are aligned to an assessment of need, to achieve development impact across a range of sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n
DFIs play an important role in helping to build markets, mitigate risks and pave the way for other investors to enter new markets.<\/p>\n\n\n
The G7 DFI group consists of CDC, Proparco (France), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation, DFC (US), FinDev Canada, DEG (Germany) and CDP (Italy).<\/p>\n\n\n
The UK Minister for Africa, James Duddridge, said the UK was proud to back this commitment by world leaders at the G7 Summit.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cThis investment will create jobs, boost economic growth, help tackle climate change and fight poverty. It comes at a crucial time as the continent rebuilds its economies, severely impacted by COVID-19,\u201d Duddridge said.<\/p>\n\n\n
Also, Nick O\u2019Donohoe, the Chief Executive Officer, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Group, said the patient, high quality capital DFIs provided was urgently needed if African economies were to rebuild quickly from the impact of the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cCDC is committed to building long term investment partnerships in Africa that fuel sustainable private sector growth in support of the UN\u2019s Sustainable Development Goals,\u201d O\u2019Donohoe said.<\/p>\n\n\n
Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), said the EIB welcomed G7 leadership to enhance support for high-impact investment across Africa during and after the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cLast year, the EU Bank\u2019s engagement in Africa, as part of Team Europe, represented the largest ever support for climate action and investment in fragile states in 55 years of EIB operations on the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cWe stand ready to cooperate further with African and multilateral partners to tackle both COVID-19 and accelerate the green transition in Africa,\u201d Hoyer said.<\/p>\n\n\n
Also, Makhtar Diop, IFC\u2019s Managing Director, said ensuring an inclusive and sustainable recovery for people, businesses and economies across Africa, in coordination with IFC\u2019s development partners, was at the core of the corporation\u2019s development mandate.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cWe know that the private sector will play a major role in financing Africa\u2019s future by creating millions of jobs that are essential to ensuring sustained economic growth and poverty reduction.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cWe, therefore, welcome this important partnership and are proud to provide financing and to work with partners to help create the right conditions to bring more private investment to Africa,\u201d Diop said.<\/p>\n\n\n
Similarly, David Marchick, Chief Operating Officer of U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) said investing more in Africa, under President Biden\u2019s leadership, was a top priority for DFC in fulfilling its development mandate.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cDFC is proud to be doubling down on our commitment to Africa, alongside our G7 and multilateral partners .<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201dWe will continue to prioritise investments in vaccine manufacturing, COVID-19 response, climate mitigation and adaptation, and gender equity on the African continent,\u201d Marchick said.<\/p>\n\n\n
Dario Scannapieco, Chief Executive Officer, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) said closer collaboration among DFIs and multilateral partners was an essential factor in fostering sustainable economic recovery and growth in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cCDP looks forward to contributing to this strategic partnership, supporting the African continent in developing its entrepreneurial and financial private sector, to unlock its vast, untapped potential,\u201d Scannapieco said.<\/p>\n\n\n
Also, Solomon Quaynor, Vice President, Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation, AfDB, said the bank welcomed the global partnership and the opportunity to provide the African voice, as Africa builds back better and boldly.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cThe opportunity to create jobs, particularly for youth and women, from a focus on industrialising Africa underpinned by the African Continental Free Trade Area, will be our priority.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cGiven the gap between the IMF estimates and what this partnership is committing to, we will seek to crowd-in African development partners.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201dAs well as African savings from SWFs, pensions, and insurance pools, estimated to have US$1.8 trillion AUM,\u201d Quaynor said.<\/p>\n\n\n
Furthermore, Heike Harmgart, EBRD Managing Director, Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, said harnessing the potential of the private sector was essential in supporting prosperity in Africa and meeting its development needs.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cIn the North African countries where we work, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, we have invested over 11.5 billion euros in only nine years.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201dIt will be focused on boosting the private sector, developing green sustainable infrastructure and promoting youth and women participation in the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cWe will pursue our efforts to expand private sector investment opportunities at scale in the region, in close cooperation with other development actors,\u201d Harmgart said.<\/p>\n\n\n
However, Monika Beck, member of the DEG-Management Board, a German development finance institution, noted that many of the institution\u2019s African partner countries had been affected by the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cWe quickly developed new services to support private sector SMEs and to help protect jobs and livelihoods.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cIn Africa, DEG has always been specifically committed to creating prospects for the young, growing population. Therefore DEG welcome and is proud to be part of the G7 DFI Africa initiative,\u201d Beck said.<\/p>\n\n
The G7 Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) have announced a commitment to invest $80 billion in Africa\u2019s private sector, over the next five years, to support sustainable economic recovery and growth in the continent. A statement by the African Development Bank (AfDB), said the G7 DFIs made the announcement along with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[125,241],"tags":[786],"class_list":["post-31196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance-money","category-foreign","tag-g7","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"yoast_head":"\n