About Us
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The Africa Investment Forum Market Days will take place from 4-6 December 2024 in Rabat, Morocco. This year’s theme, “Leveraging Innovative Partnerships for Scale,” underscores the commitment by partners to drive transformative investments across Africa through strategic collaborations.
The Africa Investment Forum is a unique platform that accelerates Africa’s economic transformation through strategic investment. Launched in 2018, its centrepiece is the Market Days, which brings together project sponsors, government leaders, and key investors every year to facilitate promising projects toward deal closure.
Market Days boardroom sessions streamline the investment process by connecting bankable projects with capital from commercial banks, institutional investors, and other sources of financing to enable direct negotiations and deal-closing.
Event Details
- Start Date : December 04,2024
- End Date : December 06, 2024
- Timing : 09:00 - 19:00
- Venue : Sofitel Rabat Jardin des Roses
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09:00 – 19:00
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09:00 - 16:30
Africa SME Forum
Host: CGEM
The Africa Investment Forum is the continent’s premier investor development platform and partnership co-founded in 2018 by the African Development Bank Group, Africa50, Afrexim Bank, the Africa Finance Corporation, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the European Investment Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and the Trade and Development Bank. In six years, the AIF has generated more than $180 billion in investment interest.
Collectively, the partners are committed to co-leveraging investments on a continent to that is home to a labour pool that, represents 39% of the world's population under the age of 20; 30% of the world's potential for solar and wind energy production; and a market of 2.5 billion individuals by 2050.
Recently, La Confédération Générale des Entreprises du Maroc (CGEM) undertook a comprehensive study funded by the African Development Bank, to evaluate levels of business growth that can be unleashed by energising Africa’s value chains. The study provides invaluable insights into the African market, including mechanisms for harnessing opportunities to ensure Africa’s food, energy and health sovereignty, and for providing increased added value and jobs, through the transformation of goods.
This forum will bring together African business leaders and 500 SMEs from across the continent to discuss the results of the study, as well as address critical areas including human capital, financing, sustainability, technology, and accelerating the power and growth of SMEs on the continent.
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08:30 – 16:00
Insurer / ECA Session
Host: African Development Bank Group
To mobilize efforts and resources, and to diversify its investor base, the African Development Bank is proactively engaging with institutional investors including insurers and export credit agencies. Recent G20calls for MDB reforms and innovations, are in sync with the Bank’s drive and ambitions to do more through balance sheet optimisation and innovative solutions to mobilise private capital.
The Insurer / ECA session is an opportunity to bring insurers, ECAs, insurance brokers, and institutional investors together to deepen the Bank's relationship with institutional investors by providing enhanced insights into the Bank's business instruments and strategies, foster dialogue, showcase innovative solutions, and strengthen partnerships to drive even more much needed sustainable development and economic growth in the region.
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19:00 – 21:00
Welcome Reception
Host: Africa50
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08:00 – 09:00
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Sofitel Rabat Jardin des Roses
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08:00 – 09:00
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08:00 – 08:45
Breakfast Session: AIF Bankability Series
By adopting a transactional approach, this AIF series aims to demonstrate proven pathways for tackling project bankability challenges in Africa. During the session, speakers will showcase deals introduced at the 2023 Market Days and share how their respective efforts are enhancing project bankability considerations. Particular focus will be given to project preparation, and climate action and peace-building efforts in Africa. By partnering with trust funds, impact investors, private foundations, other MDBs, and bilateral aid agencies, the AIF’s objective is to accelerate bankability across a growing pipeline of deals, that achieve unprecedented impact at scale across Africa.
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09:00 – 11:15
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13:00 – 14:00
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11:45 – 13:00
High-level Panel Developing New Investment Flows into Africa
Host: Japan
Recent years have witnessed increased investment flows into Africa from traditional Western sources and emerging players, particularly from the Far East. Japan has become a major investor, focusing on infrastructure projects and natural resource extraction, including in critical minerals for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. China, South Korea, and India are also expanding their economic presence on the continent. These investments span several sectors including energy, natural resources, telecommunications, and manufacturing. A number of African nations are leveraging this keen interest to drive economic growth and job creation. However, concerns persist about debt sustainability, resource exploitation, and the need for more transparent deal structures to ensure long-term benefits for local economies.
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12:00 – 13:30
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13:00 – 14:30
Networking Lunch
Host: Casablanca Financial City
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14:30 – 16:30
Impact and Returns: How to Unlock Institutional Capital for Infrastructure
Host: Africa50
This focused session will consist of two panels.
The first panel will explore opportunities to unlock greater allocations of institutional capital for Africa globally, and to accelerate shares from African institutional investors to drive infrastructure development. The session will spotlight de-risking and value creation strategies to foster, attract, and build institutional investor confidence. The strategic role of progressive capital partnerships that combine philanthropic, concessional and private capital to build larger pipelines of bankable projects, will also be explored.
The second panel, in collaboration with the International Solar Alliance (ISA) will discuss how progressive partnerships, technology transfers and local capacity building can drive the growth of hydro, solar, wind, and other renewable energy sectors across the continent. Global panelists involved in the creation of these new structures, platforms and vehicles will share critical insights into new possibilities, following more strategic approaches to capital mobilisation.
Fireside Chat
Panel 1: Demystifying perception on Africa Investments landscape
Panel 2 in collaboration with International Solar Alliance (ISA):
Accelerate sustainable investing in Africa (5 speakers + moderator)
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14:30 – 17:30
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19:00 – 21:00
Official Dinner
Host: Kingdom of Morrocco
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08:00
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08:00 – 9:00
Breakfast Session Sports as a Business Catalyst
The transformative power of sports in Africa has most recently been illustrated by Côte d’Ivoire’s hosting of the African Cup of Nations earlier this year. This event showcased world-class African talent and significantly boosted the country’s economy through substantial revenue generation, the development of new infrastructure, and a surge in tourism. The successful hosting of the tournament left a lasting legacy of improved world class stadiums, transportation networks, and hospitality facilities, underscoring the potential of sports to drive economic growth.
Looking ahead, the upcoming 2030 FIFA World Cup in Morocco promises to be another landmark event. This workshop will explore sport’s potential as an investment and development driver. Experts will discuss how sporting events and infrastructure projects can attract foreign capital, create jobs, and boost tourism; examine successful case studies, and debate strategies for sustainable growth. The AIF will leverage its unique platform to attract international and regional investments into the African sports ecosystem that have tremendous potential to benefit multiple sectors and provide inclusive opportunities.
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09:00 – 10:00
High-Level Panel Mobilising Finance for Urban Development and Planning : Plenary Session
Host: Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)
In order to meet the challenge of a predicted tripling of Africa’s urban population in the next 25 years, African countries will need to invest about 5.5 per cent of their annual GDPs into the development of their cities. The AfDB’s 2023 report, From Millions to Billions, identified the importance of investment and policies to address Africa’s urbanisation megatrend, in particular: the power of vision, creating enabling environments; increasing revenue flows to cities; and improving fiscal autonomy and credit worthiness. The panel will also include success stories from across the continent and identify best practice growth strategies.
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10:00 – 11:15
High-Level Panel Scaling Up Infrastructure Financing in Africa Through Partnerships Between DFIS, Insurers and ECAS: Plenary Session
Host: African Development Bank Group
There are tremendous collaboration and partnership opportunities for development finance institutions, insurance companies and export credit agencies to scale up infrastructure financing in Africa that supports sustainable economic growth. The panel will explore and discuss the impact of political, economic and regulatory stability across Africa; balancing high-growth opportunities with exposures to risk; and identify innovative mechanisms for collectively leveraging their respective instruments to minimise risk while increasing the lending capacity of DFIs.
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11:15 – 11:45
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11:45 – 13:15
Innovative Funding Structures for Africa’s Energy Transition
Host: SEFA
This special session will look at high-impact projects that offer both development impact and prospect for risk-adjusted returns, by virtue of their blended finance capital structures. The session will bring together - opportunities and pipeline projects by the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), and the AfDB’s complementary blended finance facility to catalyse private investments in clean energy across the African continent. SEFA is backed by 10 donors representing over $500 million in cumulative contributions and was scaled-up at the end of 2019 to better align with the needs of a fast-changing energy market in Africa.
The urgency of climate compatible investments and the challenges inherent with capital mobilisation at scale for Africa’s just energy transition necessitate platforms such as SEFA. This session will showcase examples of how more flexible and sophisticated financial instruments can provide technical assistance and concessional finance. Also, under discussion and focus will be three thematic areas: green baseload, green mini-grids, and energy efficiency.
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11:45 – 13:15
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13:15 – 14:30
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14:30 – 17:00
Agricultural Innovation and Green Growth: Transforming Africa’s Investment Landscape
Host: Japan
Africa is at a crucial juncture in its development journey, with digitalisation and green growth emerging as vital pathways for sustainable progress. This side event will showcase innovative Japanese technologies, business practices, and financing solutions that contribute to these objectives, by major Japanese companies and start-ups. With a focus on the integration of digital solutions in agriculture and the promotion of a green transition, the event will explore strategies to drive environmental sustainability and economic growth across the continent. The agenda is designed to facilitate knowledge sharing, investment opportunities, and collaboration among stakeholders, as well as emphasize the role and suitability of Japanese innovations to address Africa's unique challenges.
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14:30 – 17:30
Women as Investment Champions
Host: Affirmative Finance for Women in Action (AFAWA)
Women entrepreneurs and investors represent a significant, yet underutilized driver of economic growth in Africa. Despite the demonstrated resilience and impact of women-led enterprises, they continue to face disproportionate barriers in accessing finance and investment opportunities. The AFAWA initiative seeks to address these challenges by increasing access to financial services for women entrepreneurs and creating a supportive ecosystem for their growth.
The AFAWA event will amplify the conversation around gender-inclusive finance, showcase successful women-led ventures, and facilitate connections between investment-ready women entrepreneurs, investors, and financial institutions. This session, which will include keynotes, interactive panel discussions with AFAWA-supported bank leaders, AFAWA ambassadors, female global financial industry leaders, women-led investment funds and banks, and key public, private and multilateral stakeholders, will also identify strategic constraints and recommendations.
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14:30 – 16:00
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16:00 – 17:30
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19:00 – 21:00
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08:00
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07:45 – 08:45
Breakfast Session Private Sector Investment Opportunities in Forced Displacement Settings
In partnership with UNHCR
With 45 million forcibly displaced people across the continent, including 8.8 million refugees and 34.5 million internally displaced people (IDPs), and their host countries, these communities represent a vast, dynamic market primed for private sector engagement.
Traditionally viewed through a humanitarian lens, refugees and IDPs are increasingly recognized as powerful economic actors with untapped potential. These communities bring a wealth of diverse skills, entrepreneurial drive, and unique market insights, often developing innovative solutions to local challenges. Their presence has catalysed the transformation of many hosting areas into vibrant economic hubs, creating new markets and trade routes that extend beyond national borders.
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09:00 – 10:30
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09:00 – 10:00
High-Level Panel Investing In Africa’s Green Energy Future
Africa stands at a critical crossroad in its energy development. While the continent has vast potential for renewable energy, it faces significant challenges in attracting investment and implementing large-scale green projects. This panel will explore the opportunities and obstacles in Africa's transition to clean energy, examine successful case studies, innovative financing models, and policies to accelerate sustainable development. Speakers will discuss how international partnerships, technology transfer, and local capacity building can innovatively drive the growth of solar, wind, and other renewable sectors across the continent at scale.
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10:00 – 11:00
High-Level Panel Innovative Financing Models
To date, traditional financing sources have fallen short of meeting Africa's development needs. Innovative financing models are emerging to fill the gap and to tap new capital streams. These include blended finance that matches commercial return-seeking capital with development finance, projects and diaspora bonds that channel funds from expatriate communities, and social/green impact bonds where investors are repaid based on measured development outcomes. In addition, multilateral initiatives are exploring mechanisms like SDR rechannelling, asset securitization, crowdfunding and cryptocurrency to finance innovation in Africa. The panel will discuss the opportunities for new forms of investment and debate their merits.
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11:00 – 11:15
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11:15 – 12:45
Conversation with Heads of State: Regional Corridors
Regional economic corridors - a key priority for infrastructure investment in Africa – will enhance connectivity and trade flows across multiple countries by developing integrated networks of roads, railways, pipelines, and ports. The Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) has prioritized vital corridor projects such as the North-South Multimodal Corridor spanning eight nations. Implementing large-scale, cross-border initiatives, however, require harmonised policies, regulatory frameworks, and financing mechanisms between participating states.
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12:45 – 13:30
Official Closing Ceremony
Closing remarks and announcement of projects and boardroom outcomes
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13:30 – 15:30
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14:00 – 15:00