Global mobility giant, Uber and car manufacturer, Nissan have been announced as official partners of Africa’s Green Economy Summit by the organizers of the event.
Additionally, several prominent speakers have been confirmed to be present during the packed two-day investment gathering.
From February 22, 2023 to February 24,2023, the summit is set to take place at Cape Town and will bring together investors, developers and governments across the globe.
The Summit promises to highlight investment prospects that exist in the fields of green hydrogen, EVs and hybrid vehicles, energy storage, solar, hydro and wind energy, infrastructure development, urban sustainability, as well as manufacturing.
The Africa Green Economy Summit is part of the E-Fest Cape Town that will result in the Formula E-2023 Cape Town E-Prix race, on 25th February, 2023 – same week of the Summit.
According to John Roome, World Bank’s South Asia Regional Director of Sustainable Development, who also happened to be the moderator of the session on ‘Accelerating Green Investment in Africa’ during the summit, Africa should capitalize on business and technology innovation to capitalize on the huge opportunities that the continent can tap into so as to champion green growth targeted at providing both good climate outcomes, increased incomes and growth.
“This will require public policymakers, private entrepreneurs, investors and the financial sector to work together in a coordinated way to deliver on these opportunities.”
Roome
Setting the tone for discussions at the Summit, Roome further explained that “Africa doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel”.
“There are four examples that I will talk about from India that give good examples of how India has been able to drive down the price of LED light bulbs and create a new business opportunity in street lighting.
“How they’ve been able to drive growth in e-buses across the country, how they’ve expanded rooftop solar and how they have expanded renewables through renewable solar energy farms, using a combination of public policy, private investment and financial sector innovation.”
Roome
Hydrogen is key to driving net zero
An important theme of the summit is the continent’s commitment to key strategies for investment-ready green infrastructure projects and hydrogen is receiving a lot of attention as a key component of driving net zero.
“We tend to think that possibly a route to consider is going smaller to begin with, in terms of the size of pilots, proving out pilots on a smaller scale; which we think would then catalyze more finance into the projects themselves in terms of bridging the finance gap, but ultimately we think the finance will come.”
Mardé van Wyk, Venture Partner at Advanced Pioneer Ventures
Advance Pioneer Ventures, where Mardé works is a UK-based company that invests in hydrogen technology.
The upcoming Summit, has the Venture Partner on the expert panel, discussing about “Developing a hydrogen economy”.
“We think the opportunity is there and that it’s a matter of all the players in the finance ecosystem coming together and ensuring that, as the research shows, we capitalize on this opportunity where hydrogen is a key component of driving net zero.
“And to the extent that, that is part of their strategy as a financial institution, they have to be playing their role and in terms of enabling hydrogen as part of that solution.” van Wyk
The City of Cape Town, which is already home to a thriving green economy, is looking forward to welcoming the summit delegates to assist in creating avenues to invest in this innovative space.
Meanwhile, ABB, Nissan and Uber are gold sponsors for the summit whereas the African Development Fund is a gold sponsor and development partner.
Other partners going to be present are Norfund and Actis, as investor partners; Frost & Sullivan and Bruwer Capital, as supporting partners; City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Government and Wesgro, also as official event partners.
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