Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, 11 July, 2019 - Japanese companies and investors were presented with a range of investment opportunities in Africa as the African Investment Forum continued a roadshow to showcase the Forum as an innovative investment marketplace for attracting capital for projects on the continent.
African Development Bank officials met with business community leaders and government officials in Tokyo, Japan, from 3-5 July to familiarize them about the upcoming edition of the Forum, scheduled for 11-13 November 2019, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Tokyo events came on the heels of a roadshow organized in Seoul, South Korea, from 1-2 July, both aimed at pitching investment opportunities in Africa to North Asia.
Over 50 Japanese companies and their delegates, along with public sector institutions and African Diplomatic Corps in Tokyo attended the Tokyo roadshow, which Tadashi Yokoyama, Head of Asia External Representation of the Bank described as "well timed to generate momentum ahead of the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7)." TICAD7 will be held in Yokohama, Japan, from 28-30 August, 2019.
"Japanese private sector's active participation in the Africa Investment Forum is strongly encouraged to find abundant investment opportunities that Africa offers," Yokoyama said. "This roadshow provided a good introduction for Japanese companies seriously considering investment in Africa."
Over the three days in, Tokyo, the team held meetings with key Japanese partners in the private sector as well as the Ministry of Finance, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport & Urban Development.
"It is impressive to realize how much Japan, through its private sector, has been contributing to the transformation of Africa. The Africa Investment Forum presents as a good opportunity for Japanese companies to promote their work and meet with the right people and further their involvement," said Patrick McGee, Lead Investment Relations Officer of the Africa Investment Forum.
The Africa Investment Forum team will conduct other roadshow events in Europe, the Middle East and North America.
The Africa Investment Forum, a flagship event of the African Development Bank, is dedicated to advancing projects throughout Africa to bankable stages, raising capital, and accelerating the financial closure of deals.
This unique multi-stakeholder platform offers the following groundbreaking pillars to fast-track African investment: it matches investors and public infrastructure projects; and presents de-risking tools, designed by the Bank and other development partners, in order to offer investors a safety net. The Forum also advocates for regulatory reforms in order to facilitate a more conducive investment climate.
Last year, the conference broke the mold for investment in Africa by facilitating deals worth billions of dollars in just three days.
The Forum's lead partners include: Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), African Export Import Bank (AfreximBank), Trade and Development Bank (TDB), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Africa 50, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), and European Investment Bank (EIB).
Contact:
Amba Mpoke-Bigg, Communication and External Relations Department, African Development Bank
