Nigeria Secures 18% of Total AIF Deals – AfDB

• Nigeria Secures 18% of Total AIF Deals – AfDB

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has said Nigeria attracted 18 percent of the total investment inflows that were received through the African Investment Forum held in South Africa in November 2018.

Mr Ebrina Faal, the Senior Country Director for Nigeria, AfDB, disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday during a roadshow to promote the second edition of the forum in South Africa.

He said Nigeria secured $7 billion of the total $38.7 billion investment inflow received for the African continent in 2018.

Faal also stated that the African Development Bank would increase its average investment on the continent from $600 million to about $1 billion per annum in the next three years.

The AfDB boss said, “The Africa Investment Forum aims to change the face of investment in Africa by bringing together members with a vested interest in Africa’s growth and development through business transformation.

“It is a multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary collaborative platform for international business and social impact investors looking to invest on the continent. It is a highly-transactional marketplace dedicated to advancing projects to bankable stages, raising capital, and accelerating the financial closure of deals.

“Sufficient to say now that it convened over 2,000 participants representing 87 countries, including eight heads of governments in 2018. Deals worth a total of $46.9bn were discussed with 49 deals valued at $38.7bn secured.”

He added, “At the 2018 Africa Investment Forum, West Africa accounted for 36 per cent of the deals that were closed. Nineteen projects worth $16.1bn were presented, of which 16 projects valued at $13.1bn secured investment. Our region grossed the highest value in deals, followed by the host region accounting for 22.7 per cent.

“Nigeria was very visible. Out of the 63 boardroom deals presented at the forum, Nigeria had five deals worth $7bn. This represents 14.9 per cent of the total deals accounted for the continent, and 43 per cent of the deals accounted for the region; we can do better.

“This year, it is paramount that we not only maintain our place as a pacesetter but also collectively strive to improve on the quality and quantity of deals closed.”