Ecobank Nigeria MD Seeks Partnerships To Bridge Infrastructure Gap

The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan has enjoined a partnership between financial institutions and private investors to address the country’s infrastructure deficit. 

Speaking on ‘Transportation Infrastructure Development Financing In Nigeria’ at the Nigerian Institute For Transport Technology (NITT) 2021 Transport Technology Conference in Abuja, Akinwuntan said this is given the bulk of activities across the infrastructure project lifecycle in Nigeria.

He noted that though Nigeria has made moderate progress in infrastructure development regarding improved access to finance, strong telecom penetration and moderating power production, there is limited productivity in the transport sector when compared to other sectors and regions. He lamented that private sector involvement in infrastructure development is constrained by selection of low-impact projects; weak feasibility study and business plan; delays in obtaining licenses, approvals and permits, and inability to secure guarantees.

Akinwuntan argued that the attractiveness of the transport sector must be compelling to attract the required funding, noting that there is high investor appetite for Africa as 72 per cent of available funds for African infrastructure investment are from the private sector.

“The government, in partnership with the private sector, recently launched Infra-co, an infrastructure company with initial seed capital of $2.4bn (or N1tr and is expected to grow its capital and assets to $36bn (about N15bn) over time to fund public projects like roads, rails, and power.

“The start-up funding will come from the CBN, the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, and the Africa Finance Corporation. Governance, operations, returns and valuation are to be driven by global best practice. This is definitely a right step in the right direction. Also, the Nigerian Banking industry has been showing consistent support for the Transport and Construction sector, evidenced by continuous growth in credit allocation. There are major sources for transportation infrastructure funds such as Green bond pools, Diaspora Naijaworld Infrastructure Bonds, Technology and telecoms through right of way. International chains/brands funds can also be accessed via private sector financing,” he stressed.

He shared selected Ecobank infrastructure participation success stories across the continent such as  Asky Airlines, the multinational passenger airline serving west and central Africa; road infrastructure in Cote d’ Ivoire; port infrastructure in Ghana; telecommunications Infrastructure in Senegal and power infrastructure in Cameroun, among others.

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