•Africa is bankable, Says Excited Adesina, AfDB President
Participants at the 2019 Africa Investment Forum were apparently not disappointed when it ended on a high note Wednesday, with 56 boardroom deals valued at $67.6bn tabled, representing a 44% increase over that of last year.
A breakdown showed that 52 of those deals worth $40.1bn, or 59.32% secured investor interest, compared with $37.8bn last year, according to a statement by the African Development Bank Group, organizers of the forum, which held in Johannesburg, South Africa.
During the 2018 edition of the Forum, 61 transactions valued at $46.9bn were tabled for discussions in boardroom sessions and 49 deals worth $37.8bn or 80.6%, secured investment interest.
Presiding over the session: “Unveiling the Boardroom Deals”, AfDB President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, said that was the spirit of the Africa Investment Forum: “transactions, transactions, transactions… Deals… deals… deals…!”
This year’s forum attracted over 2,221 participants from 109 countries, 48 from Africa and 61 from outside of Africa, spanning government, the private sector, development finance institutions, commercial banks, and institutional investors.

According to Chinelo Anohu, the Forum’s Senior Director, ”the Forum is a platform that will change Africa’s investment landscape. Africa is ready to engage on its own terms.”
Highlights of the Forum included a $600m COCOBOD deal for Ghana, for cocoa processing, warehousing and processing; $58m for the Alithea Identity Fund for women; and a concession agreement for the Accra Sky Train, worth $2.6bn.
The Forum focused on projects and advancing deals spanning several sectors, including Energy, Infrastructure, Transport and Utilities, Industry, agriculture, ICT and Telecoms.
“Now the hard work begins to fast-track these deals to financial closure… Africa is bankable,” Adesina said.