Urges US business community to invest in Africa
African Development Bank Group President Akinwumi Adesina completed a four-day official visit to Morocco today. Meeting with Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch in Marrakech on Thursday, Adesina, spoke of the "excellent relationship between Morocco and the African Development Bank."
"The Kingdom of Morocco is an extremely valued partner of the Bank, with a large portfolio of top-tier operations," Adesina said.
Adesina thanked the Moroccan government for its recent decision to contribute to the 16th replenishment of the African Development Fund, the Bank Group's concessional window, which supports the continent's low-income economies. Adesina also met Morocco's Minister of Economy and Finance Mrs. Nadia Fettah, Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills Mr. Younes Sekkouri, and Minister Delegate in charge of Investment, Convergence and Policy Evaluation Mr. Mohcine Jazouli.
As Chairman of the Board of Directors of Africa50--the leading Africa infrastructure investment company established by the Bank and several African countries--Adesina presided over the company's annual general shareholders meeting in Marrakech on 19 July. He announced that Cabo Verde had become a shareholder of the platform, which is increasingly committed to promoting green infrastructure.
Earlier this year, the African Development Bank and Africa50--in partnership with other African and global institutions -- launched the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa. Its goal is to raise up to US$500 million in start-up capital for project development and preparation, and to generate up to US$10 billion in investment opportunities. This is expected to accelerate Africa's just and equitable transition to Net Zero emission of greenhouse gases.
Speaking in Marrakech on Tuesday at the US-Africa Business Summit -- whose theme was "Building Forward Together" -- Adesina told American investors that climate adaptation and climate change represented a huge opportunity for astute investors. He said the African Development Bank estimated that climate adaptation in Africa would necessitate investments of US$3 trillion by 2030, which he said represented an attractive asset class for infrastructure investors to align financial returns with a significant development impact.
The Summit responded to Adesina's call to boost agricultural production in Africa. This is to avert a looming food crisis due to the Russian war in Ukraine. Morocco's state phosphates and fertilizer producer, OCP Group, has said that it will offer African countries 180,000 tons of soil nutrients in assistance, and 370,000 tons at a reduced price, representing 16% of African demand this year. That is a quarter of OCP Group's sales on the continent.
Adesina also met Mrs. Nardos Bekele-Thomas, Chief Executive Officer for the African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa's Development (AUDA-NEPAD). They discussed collaboration between both institutions in infrastructure, agriculture, water and youth.
The African Development Bank Group head visited Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, one of the most innovative institutions in the world. The university, funded by Moroccan phosphates producer OCP Group, is expanding its research laboratories and incubators for young entrepreneurs over 70 hectares. Its state of the art Coding Center in Benguerir near Marrakech is completely free, is open 24 hours a day every day, and is accessible to all without the prerequisite of a diploma or computer knowledge.
Mohammed VI Polytechnic University's coding center uses the technical and educational methods of School 42, a private, non-profit and tuition-free computer science school in Paris. The 42 program is acclaimed as a future-proof computer science training to educate the next generation, and last year was ranked the best coding school in the world by CodinGame.
Adesina commended university President Hicham El Habti for reshaping the future of Africa through education, and in creatively empowering Africa's youth.
The Bank delegation also had discussions with Mr. Mehdi Tazi Riffi, the CEO of Tanger Med Special Agency.
Accompanying the Bank President were Acting Vice-President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Yacine Fal, and Vice-President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization Solomon Quaynor.
The African Development Bank Group has been active in Morocco for over 50 years, notably in the healthcare, farming, energy, water, transport, human development and financial sectors. Over this period, the Bank has committed more than US$12 billion in financing to the country.
Contact:
Fahd Belbachir, Senior External Relations and Communication Officer for North Africa, f.belbachir@afdb.org
