The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Mr. Akinwumi A. Adesina has disclosed that the African continent, despite its challenges is ready to welcome investors.
Mr. Adesina speaking at the 2021 Singapore Africa Business Forum under the theme ‘In Africa, challenges are the opportunities despite Covid-19‘, highlighted the challenges of the global recession caused by Covid-19 and its adverse impact on African Markets.
“You cannot ignore African markets. Africa is open to investors. The challenges are the opportunities.
“The global Covid-19 pandemic should not dampen investor appetite in Africa. The Continent remains an investment destination of choice despite the challenges”.
Mr. Akinwumi A. Adesina
Gracing the forum which welcomed 2,000 business and government leaders from 30 countries to explore partnerships and growth opportunities between both sides was Mr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President African Development Bank.
Also in attendance was Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, Viswanathan Shankar, Co-founder and CEO of Gateway Partners, Peter Ong Boon Kwee, Chairman of Enterprise Singapore, and other Singaporean investors among others.
The annual forum organized by Enterprise Singapore is purposed to identify numerous opportunities in key sectors of the African continent including digital technology, financing, innovation, manufacturing, sustainability, and urban solutions.
Furthermore, Mr. Adesina cited energy and renewable energy sector as one offering that is the most potential opportunities to investors.
“Trade between Singapore and Africa has been growing steadily over the past five years, with Singapore being among the top 10 investors in Africa.
“More than 100 Singaporean companies are currently operating across 50 African countries in the oil and gas, consumer, digital, agri-business and trade sectors.”
Mr. Akinwumi A. Adesina
Additionally, AfDB’s President disclosed that “investment in training future generations through the coding for employment initiative was an example of its commitment to investing in human capital as the most important resource”.
Also, with the growing presence of mobile banking on the continent, Africa has demonstrated strong innovation in fintech and revolutionized traditional payments systems, Mr. Adesina disclosed.
Mr. Adesina further cited examples of mobile payment systems like Mpesa in East Africa among others who are leading the industry.
Furthermore, Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam disclosed that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) happen to be one of the walked over sectors on the African continent due to the perceived associated risk.
“Africa is at the cusp of a connectivity revolution. It’s a huge opportunity,”
Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Also Mr. Shanmugaratnam encouraged Singapore investors to consider both a short- and long-term view of the investment climate, which according to him “Africa rebounding in the short term and continuing to be an important investment destination in the long term, with many still uncontested opportunities”.
“Africa is quite different. Africa’s growth profile, it is an environment which is not dominated by large players. It is an open field, get a foothold, get the right partners”.
Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Additionally, Mr. Peter Ong Boon Kwee revealed his optimism about the mutually beneficial relationship between Singapore and the African continent. He further cited about 18 partnerships that were signed just as the Forum opened.
Furthermore, Mr. Adesina outlined the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AFCTA), which is creating the largest free trade area in the world, as a platform the Singaporean investor can capitalize on.
“Singapore is a friend of Africa. Take advantage of the welcoming platform that Africa has. The African Development Bank is there with you, de-risking, co-financing.”
Mr. Akinwumi A. Adesina
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