African and top global Chief Executive Officers have launched a Continental Business Network (CBN) to fast-track high-level private sector investment into Africa’s regional infrastructure.
US-headquartered companies has led as the largest investors into Africa last year, launching 101 FDI projects, and accounting for 13.8% of total FDI projects in Africa, an increase from a 9.8% share in 2013, according to EY’s 2015 Africa attractiveness survey.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has signed two loans and a letter of agreement with Egypt worth $140m - $90m from the AfDB window and $50m loan from the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF).
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has invested $10m in Wamda Capital, a venture capital fund that supports promising technology companies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Omidyar Network has invested in Hotels.ng, the largest hotel-booking platform in Nigeria, which provides an online marketplace to connect consumers to more than 14,000 small and medium hotels in the country, most with no prior digital presence.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), parent company of the Ecobank Group, have jointly launched a $110m risk-sharing facility that will increase access to finance for small and medium sized enterprises in fragile and conflict-affected states in West and Central Africa.
CDC Group, the UK development finance institution, has committed $75m to the Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund (PRIF), a joint initiative established by Remgro and Phuthuma Nhleko.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Switzerland have jointly launched the Africa Corporate Governance Program for Nigeria, to support economic and business expansion.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $50m investment in CEC Africa (CECA) Investments, a multinational power company headquartered in Nigeria and Zambia.
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the US Government’s development finance institution, and the Calvert Foundation have signed financing agreements to expand the lending operations of Pamiga Finance S.A. (PFSA), an impact investment company of the Participatory Microfinance Group for Africa (PAMIGA).
The Fund for Africa Private Sector Assistance (FAPA) hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB) has made a seed equity investment of $400,000 in Africlear Global, a company founded by the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC) Kenya, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Nigeria and Altree Financial Group.
The Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) has provided a credit facility of $20m to the West African Development Bank (BOAD).
The European Investment Bank has invested €20m ($22.69m) in TV Cabo Angola to provide high-speed internet access for business, private customers and public administration customers in cities across Angola.
The European Investment Bank, the European Union’s long-term lending institution, has agreed to provide €10m ($11.35m) to uniBank Ghana to support investment by private business across Ghana.
