Agenda – Africa investor (Ai) CEO Infrastructure Project Developers Summit and Awards 2016

Catalysing Africa’s Project Development Finance and Investment Ecosystems

There is no shortage of capital on the continent for bankable projects in Africa. The challenge is in creating the environment to encourage project developers to take on risk and engage effectively with public and private sector institutions with specific facilities and mandates to participate in the financing and development of early stage project development.

This unique, CEO-level Summit will bring together the critical decision makers from across Africa’s project development community for a dynamic public-private sector engagement on how to strengthen the project developer community and ecosystem in Africa to better facilitate and unlock developer finance, investment and co-development partnerships.

9 May 2016

08h00 – 09h00

Summit Registration

09h00-09h15

Welcome and Opening Remarks

09h15-09h30

Keynote Address

09h30 – 10h30

Project Developer Leaders’ Clinic

In this session, the latest macro-economic trends in the infrastructure space on the continent will be discussed and their impact on development-stage financing analysed. Recommendations will then be made on how developers can adapt their business model to these changes.

10h30 – 11h00

Networking Break

11h00 – 12h00

Leaders’ Keynote Debate on Developer Finance Vehicles

During this session, financiers will debate the role various finance vehicles play in the infrastructure project development lifecycle. Specifically, this session will examine the role of SPACs, SPVs, traditional equity investments, DFIs, etc. and the risks and benefits each of these vehicles pose to developers.

12h00 – 14h00

Working Lunch: Leaders’ Lightning Talks – Stimulating Private Sector Project Development in Africa

During this sit-down lunch, each table will participate in a moderated discussion to identify practical steps that can be taken to create a more hospitable environment for private sector project development, with the aim of increasing the scale of commitments on infrastructure projects in Africa. Towards the end of the session, representatives from three tables will present a one-minute lightning talk to the room at large.

14h00 – 14h50

CEO Panel: Energy Developer Investor Pitches

In this session, developers and sponsors will pitch their business and potential projects and indicate whether they see potential and/or specific opportunities to their peers. The discussions will be between industry-specific experts and investors who are best positioned to provide constructive feedback and anticipate the conditions and enablers to help to realise these opportunities.

14h50 – 15h40

Legal Leaders’ Clinic on De-risking Project Development

We ask our expert advisors to address the typical mistakes made by developers when negotiating agreements with governments and financiers and to share their top tips. We will then open this session up for the audience to ask any legal questions they deem relevant. Both developers and financiers should come prepared with any questions they have regarding licensing, contract agreements, SLAs, local content laws or policies and ownership rights. Speakers will analyse best practices, solutions to common problems, methods for circumventing rigid economic policies, planning for the unforeseeable and successful strategies for structuring and re-structuring financing agreements.

15h40-16h00

Networking Break

16h00 – 16h50

Ministerial Roundtable on Private Sector Participation in Priority Projects

During this session, Ministers and senior officials will share the upcoming priority projects they would like to engage the private sector on to develop and finance. The session will aim to discuss how off-takers/Ministers see future projects being awarded as well as their LT strategy, given the different new programmes seen in the region. The session will also examine their views on how this might impact the number and quality of bankable new infrastructure projects in the region and will examine the associated procurement processes, options, local content laws or policies, risk management instruments, available guarantees and project timelines related to those projects.

16h50 – 17h40

Leaders’ Action Panel on the Future of Project Development Finance

Following the discussions of the day, leaders will explore strategies to improve and scale up project development finance and investment for the future. They will assess which models are possible and which partners can lead that effort to increase the impact of capital allocations and deployment from both public and private stakeholders. This will be a wrap session but open for alternative suggestions.

17h40 – 17h50

Closing Remarks

17h50 – 18h20

Ai Infrastructure Project Developer Awards 2016

 

This unique set of Awards officially recognises achievements across the main infrastructure sectors in Africa and will reward the personalities driving transactions and improving the continent’s project development environment.

18h20 – 19h30

Cocktail Reception