By:
Robert Kwaku Annor
Africa50, the African
Development Bank Group (AfDB) and Tanzania's Public Service Social Security
Fund (PSSSF) have held discussions on expanding the role of domestic
institutional investors in financing infrastructure projects across Africa.
The meeting took place on
the sidelines of the Infra for Africa Forum in Dar es Salaam, bringing together
Solomon Adegbie-Quaynor, Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and
Industrialization at the African Development Bank Group, Africa50 Chief
Operating Officer Tshepidi Moremong, and PSSSF Director General Fortunatus
Magambo.
The discussions focused on
practical approaches to mobilising long-term domestic institutional capital to
support infrastructure development, with participants highlighting the growing
potential of Africa's pension funds and other institutional investors to
finance strategic projects across the continent.
The meeting also reaffirmed
the vision of the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD),
an initiative championed by African Development Bank President Dr. Sidi Ould
Tah, which seeks to mobilise Africa's domestic financial resources to accelerate
investment in infrastructure and economic development.
Participants examined
opportunities within Tanzania's infrastructure pipeline, including prospective
investments in rail transport, energy and regional integration projects. They
noted that greater participation by domestic institutional investors could provide
the patient capital needed to finance long-term infrastructure assets.
The stakeholders emphasised
that developing bankable project pipelines, creating investable financing
structures and strengthening coordination between governments, institutional
investors and the private sector will be essential to unlocking greater domestic
investment.
They further noted that
aligning long-term domestic capital with well-structured infrastructure
projects has the potential to improve project bankability, reduce dependence on
external financing and accelerate the delivery of priority infrastructure needed
to support Africa's economic growth and regional integration.
