Africa investor and IFC InfraVentures partner on advancing project development in Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa; 29 May 2015: Africa investor (Ai), a leading international investment and communications group, together with IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced that they will co-host the Ai CEO Infrastructure Project Developers Summit, to bring leading project developers and financiers together to discuss opportunities to fast track, strengthen and support Africa’s project developer community in their efforts to provide leadership in the development and design of Africa’s much-needed infrastructure development agenda.
Infrastructure investment continues to be the single-most catalysing opportunity to boost economic growth and job creation in Africa. Whilst infrastructure development has been the theme for development partners, this has caused a dearth of engagement with project developers on the continent.
This unique, CEO-level gathering of over 200 of Africa’s leading infrastructure project developers, financiers and regulators will take place on the 2nd of June at the Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa. Themed Driving Co-development Partnerships for Africa’s Infrastructure Development, this will be an exclusive, invitation-only event.
“There is enormous regional and global interest in African infrastructure today,” said Alain Ebobisse, Global Head of IFC InfraVentures. “At the same time one the biggest challenges that we see in the sector is too many projects are not ready to receive commercial financing. We want to encourage a greater focus on project development and improving the environment to generate more bankable projects and allow more modern infrastructure to be built in this region.”
The Summit will coincide with the launch of an IFC InfraVentures-supported Special Ai Report on Africa’s Top 100 Project Developers, published and available in the May-June edition of Africa investor magazine.
Commenting on the launch of the Ai CEO Infrastructure Project Developers Summit, Hubert Danso, CEO and Vice Chairman of Africa investor, said; “We are delighted to be able to provide a high-level platform and support to project development leaders working in Africa. IFC InfraVentures is an institution at the forefront of providing leadership and investment for Africa’s growing project development community and we are delighted to partner with them to advance and professionalise the project development industry on the African continent.”
The Ai CEO Infrastructure Project Developers Summit is also convened with the additional support and partnership of Bunengi Group, the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), NEPAD, AfricaPLC, the African Business Roundtable, Association of Consulting Engineers of Namibia, South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (SAFCEC), Association of Consulting Engineers Mauritius, Uganda Association of Consulting Engineers, Consulting Engineers of South Africa, Quadrant PR and AllAfrica.
**ENDS
Note to Editors
For more information, please contact:
Catherine Wright
Africa investor
cwright@africainvestor.com
Desmond Dodd
IFC
ddodd@ifc.org
www.aidevelopersummit.com
Africa investor – www.africainvestor.com
Africa investor is a specialist investment and communications firm advising governments, international organisations and businesses on communication strategies for capital market and foreign direct investments in Africa. Africa investor publishes Africa investor, the leading international newsstand magazine for Africa’s investment decision makers; maintains the Africa investor 40 Investors’ Index, hosts the Ai CEO Institutional Summit & Awards and the Ai CEO Infrastructure Investment Summit & Awards, among other events.
IFC InfraVentures
IFC InfraVentures is a global infrastructure project development fund—part of World Bank Group’s efforts to increase the number of commercially viable projects that can attract private financing in developing countries. Its unique offering combines early stage risk capital with experienced project development support. InfraVentures addresses key constraints to private investment in infrastructure in frontier markets.
IFC InfraVentures funds project early stage expenses. This can represent a significant part of the funding necessary to bring infrastructure projects from ideas to financial close. IFC InfraVentures’ staff brings IFC’s global knowledge and experience to projects by being actively involved in and supporting development activities.
