Yemisi Izuora Chevron
Key investment strategies embarked by Nigeria, has helped in securing about $7.6 billion in 2024 from the Africa Investment Forum (AIF).
Nigeria was one of the major highlights of the event, with several State Governors, including Lagos, Kaduna, Katsina, Kwara, Plateau, and Ogun States, presenting investment-ready projects to prospective investors.
Their participation highlighted Nigeria’s focus on securing substantial international investments to address key sectors such as infrastructure, energy, agriculture, and technology.
President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, said this following the conclusion of the event.
“I am delighted the Africa Investment Forum 2024 mobilized $7.6 billion of investment interest for Nigeria. It was great to have several State Governors: Lagos, Kaduna, Kastina, Kwara, and Plateau, and (later) Ogun. We will keep working to support & boost investments to Nigeria,” Dr. Adesina said.
Held from December 4 to 6, 2024, in Rabat, Morocco, the Africa Investment Forum Market Days brought together key stakeholders under the theme, “Leveraging Innovative Partnerships for Scale.”
The forum demonstrated its commitment to driving transformative investments across Africa through strategic collaborations.
Launched in 2018, the Africa Investment Forum has become a leading platform for mobilizing investments to accelerate Africa’s economic transformation.
Its flagship event, the Market Days, offers a unique opportunity to connect project sponsors, government leaders, and investors to facilitate deal closures.
The Market Days feature highly curated boardroom sessions that streamline the investment process. These sessions connect viable projects with capital from commercial banks, institutional investors, and development partners, enabling direct negotiations and expediting the deal-making process.
The $7.6 billion investment interest secured for Nigeria demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach and the growing confidence in Nigeria’s economic potential.
The 2024 theme, “Leveraging Innovative Partnerships for Scale,” reflects the importance of collaboration in achieving sustainable growth. AIF continues to champion innovative financial models and strategic partnerships to address Africa’s critical development challenges.
Dr. Adesina emphasized the AfDB’s unwavering commitment to supporting Nigeria and other African countries in unlocking investment opportunities.
“We remain focused on driving investments that create jobs, reduce poverty, and foster sustainable development,” he noted.
At the event, Adesina said, in his speech, “As we all gathered here in Rabat, we joined our hands and hearts, with determination to drive investments into Africa, to accelerate its growth, to move forward successful projects with continuity, and to forge new alliances for stability and resilience of the economies of Africa. We came here to this historic royal city of splendor, Rabat, a World Heritage Site, to make history.”
He also announced at the event that the forum was able to attract a total of $29.2 billion of investment interest across projects.