Marrakesh (Morocco), Nov. 9, 2023: African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, says the highway to wealth on the continent is from the export of value-added agricultural products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akinwumi made this known at the ongoing 2023 Africa Investment Forum (AIF) Market Place, in Marrakesh, Morocco, on Wednesday with the theme,\u201dUnlocking Africa\u2019s Value Chains.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He spoke during the inauguration of the Alliance for Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones(SAPZs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to him, Africa must help feed the world by becoming a global player in food and agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said: \u201dTo do so, Africa must end the export of raw agricultural commodities. We must recognise that the fastest way to poverty is via the export of raw commodities, while the highway to wealth is from export of value-added products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd that is why SAPZs are important. They provide critical infrastructure to support agro-industrial development in Africa, to unleash the power of its agricultural potentials, with the establishment of food processing and manufacturing companies within the zones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201dThe zones will support the transformation of the agricultural sector, raise productivity, scale economies and efficiencies of food and agricultural value chains.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Adesina, SAPZs offer the infrastructure enabled platforms for Africa to turn its massive agricultural lands into real sources of wealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He reiterated that the bank provided the financing of 853 million dollars, and mobilised over 661 million dollars from other development partners to support the establishment of SAPZs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201dOur valued partners include the Islamic Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Arab Bank for Economic Development, the European Union, and the Korean Export-Import Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201dWe are also working with the African Union to support the Common Africa Agro-Parks Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201dOur collective effort has mobilised 1.5 billion dollars in support of the establishment of 25 SAPZs in 11 African countries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The AfDB President said to expand SAPZs across African countries, and take advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area(AfCFTA), Africa must scale up resources, partnerships, and alliances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He expressed excitement that the number of partners joining hands to rapidly scale up the SAPZs across Africa was expanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201dThe Alliance has the goal of mobilising at least 2 billion dollars in financing and investment commitments from Alliance members and partners over the next five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201dMeeting this financing goal will deliver an additional 15 to 20 SAPZs projects in various countries across the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201dThe Alliance will raise funds through various investment windows for project preparation, project development and construction, and financing for tenant companies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adesina said by doing so, the Alliance would bridge the critical financing gap, complement existing initiatives, and mobilise resources towards the common goal of enhancing agricultural value addition in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the Alliance would also provide project preparation finance, equity and debt investments, technical assistance, and project tracking and oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also speaking, Dr Benedict Oramah, President, African Export-Import Bank( Afreximbank) said that political instability in Africa, was a challenge to financing major projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oramah however called for a comprehensive idea and proposal for project financing on the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that budget financing was a major threat to enabling financing and project implementation, adding that allocation of resources was crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere should be continental regulations that countries should respect and justice for anything that is good for business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201dIt is important to sign constitutional agreements and concessions. It is also important to support product with high profitability,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is an additional commitment of about three billion dollars was pledged by the partners during the inauguration of the SAPZs.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Marrakesh (Morocco), Nov. 9, 2023: African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, says the highway to wealth on the continent is from the export of value-added agricultural products. Akinwumi made this known at the ongoing 2023 Africa Investment Forum (AIF) Market Place, in Marrakesh, Morocco, on Wednesday with the theme,\u201dUnlocking Africa\u2019s Value Chains.\u201d He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1371,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[949,241],"tags":[93],"class_list":["post-53982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-foreign","tag-export","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"yoast_head":"\n