The African Development Bank (AfDB) on Wednesday announced it has decided to postpone the 2020 Africa Investment Forum to 2021, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, reported CGTN Africa. The three day event was previously scheduled to be held in South Africa’s Johannesburg later this month.
“The board of directors of the AfDB Group and the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) founding partners has approved the postponement of the 2020 AIF to 2021, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic,” a statement on the AfDB website read. “The decision follows a careful evaluation of the impact and evolution of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the attendant risk of a possible second wave, and its associated effects on global travel, investments, as well as social distancing rules.”
As per the statement, the forum will continue to develop new deals, track investments, and administer the financial closure of existing deals through its digital platforms.
The AfDB did not provide any prospective date for when the rescheduled Africa Investment Forum is likely to be held.
According to the AfDB, 57 deals valued at $67.7 billion were brought on the table for discussions and 52 deals worth $40.1 billion secured investment interest during last year’s event.
Africa has been identified as having all the ingredients needed to make the big leap into sustainable prosperity.
Earlier this year, the AIF founding partners vowed to strengthen strategic partnership engagement and commitments for the forum’s market days 2021, in order to reboot investments in Africa.
The founding partners stressed the need to boost local manufacturing while leveraging the continent’s vast resources to unlock investment. The AIF is premised on connecting, engaging, closing, and tracking investments in order to achieve its objectives.
The AIF founding partners include the AfDB, African Export-Import Bank (AfreximBank), Africa Finance Corporation, Africa50, the Islamic Development Bank, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, and the Trade and Development Bank.
