Out of the world’s ten fastest growing economies emerged six African countries this year. The growth rate forecast for the continent in 2018 has risen up to 4.1 per cent, from 3.7 per cent in 2017. Africa has become the second most attractive investment destination in the world, with FDI inflows into the continent now up to over $60 billion. However, there is still a huge infrastructure gap, and in order for more African countries to make this list, there is need to fuel domestic capital and further attract foreign investors apart from just maintaining current growth rates and trade levels.

The key challenges continually being faced in Africa’s economy are resource mobilisation and managing risks linked to reforms and transactions in the public and private sector. Targeted foreign investment must also be channelled to other sectors which are lacking such as; healthcare, education and research, economic and processing zones, urban development and mass transit systems, digital information, and so on, which are all vital to the wellbeing of the continent.

The African Development Bank marks the continent’s infrastructure gap at $130-170 billion per year. Without sufficient financing, economic transformation will remain stunted even with available resources. Realistically, the governments and regional development banks alone cannot finance infrastructure projects. This is where the private sector comes into play. The African Development Bank has undertaken the mission to either finance development or provides viable platforms for countries to get funds for development through innovative platforms and mechanisms that bring together global pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and a vibrant private sector.

The Bank has launched the Africa Investment Forum, a transaction-based platform to help mould bankable projects, raise capital and hasten the financial closure of infrastructure deals while promoting partnerships between governments, multilateral institutions and the private institutions.