COVID-19: AfDB’s postpones annual forum to 2021

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group and the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) founding partners have approved the postponement of the 2020 AIF to 2021.

According to a statement from the AfDB on Wednesday, the postponement is due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The annual three-day investment marketplace was initially scheduled for November 2020 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The decision followed an evaluation of the impact and evolution of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The decision also considered the attendant risk of a possible second wave and its associated effects on global travel, investments, as well as social distancing rules.

According to the statement, the forum will continue to curate new deals, track investments and advance the financial closure of transactions and existing deals through its innovative digital platforms.

The statement recalled that at the 2019 AIF, 57 deals valued at 67.7 billion dollars were tabled for discussions and 52 deals worth 40.1 billion dollars secured investment interest.

In July, the AIF founding partners pledged to strengthen strategic partnership engagement and commitments for AIF Market Days 2021, to help “reboot investments in Africa”.

The partners underscored the need to boost local manufacturing while leveraging the continent’s vast resources to unlock investment.

“The AIF relies on four pillars to achieve its objectives: connecting, engaging, closing, and tracking investments,” it stated.

The forum founding partners are the African Development Bank, 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.