Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina : “These investments will deliver transformative impacts on the lives of people”

By Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina*

Your Excellency Mr. Younes Sekkouri, Minister for Economic Inclusion, Small Enterprises, Employment and Competencies, representing the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco,

Honourable Ministers,

Ms. Boitumelo Mosako, Chief Executive Officer, Development Bank of Southern Africa, representing all the partners of the Africa Investment Forum,

The Executive Directors of the African Development Bank,

My dear wife and partner in development, Grace,

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, good evening.

Hasn’t it been an amazing three days? (APPLAUSE).

“One purpose in mind: deals, deals, and deals”

Several months ago, we the founding partners of the Africa Investment Forum made the decision to have the 2023 Africa Investment Forum Market Days in Marrakesh, Morocco.

You all came from around the world, heads of state and governments, ministers, project developers, investors, with one purpose in mind: deals, deals, and deals.

Among investors from around the world, we were delighted to also host a delegation of 50 business leaders from Japan.

What a commitment we have! Thank you all very much for coming all the way.

Morocco is the right choice.

Since we arrived in the beautiful and resilient city of Marrakesh, we have been treated to incredible hospitality for which Morocco is well known. And that hospitality and warm welcome flowed directly from the heart of His Majesty, King Mohammed VI (May God assist him).

His Majesty graciously placed the event under his own high patronage. His message to us all said, “Initiatives such as the Africa Investment Forum … are commendable because they help direct private investment towards most promising economic sectors, thus reinforcing the integration of African economies into global value chains.”

His Majesty further said, “I am sure that this year’s Forum will be even more enriching, and that it will send a strong signal to investors as to African countries’ commitment to transformative investment … to fulfil the aspirations of our continent, our populations, and our youth.”

What a royal blessing! Thank you very much Your Majesty.

Over the past three days, that royal inspiration, like renewable energy, powered the discussions of participants, as the Palais des Congrès was transformed into a beehive of discussions, engagements, analysis and assessments on projects.

The opening high-level panel discussion of heads of state and government was very inspiring, showing that the leaders came to show strong support for investments.

The boardrooms were packed. In several cases, heads of state and government chaired discussions of projects from their countries. They were truly there as Chief Executive Officers of their countries, fielding questions and providing assurances and reassurances to investors.

Project developers and investors looked at investment opportunities in several areas, including food and agriculture, renewable energy, mining, transport corridors, aviation, deep-water seaports and railways, ICT, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, creative industries and health.

Other events focused on Regional Corridors, the Mayor’s Forum and the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones, were all exciting and powerful for driving greater investments in transport corridors, urban infrastructure and finance, and in food and agribusiness.

We had some major developments…

I was delighted to sign a Letter of Intent with the Chief Executive Officer of the Mohammed VI Investment Fund, which will invest in supporting the private sector, especially small and medium sized enterprises and infrastructure in Morocco—a great vision by His Majesty King Mohammed VI.

Strong partnerships were forged with the launch of the Alliance for Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones with a commitment of $3 billion by the partners, including the African Development Bank, the Africa Export-Import Bank, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms.

But it was not just all work … we had some relaxing moments too.

In between, we had some fun at the Gala dinner, as participants, project developers and investors, and yours truly (I love dancing!), jammed the dance floor, to energy-infusing Moroccan music.

The dance moves inspired celebrations.

Celebration of our diversity.

Celebration of our commitment.

Celebration of our partnerships.

Partnerships driven by investment results.

“We are building a financial powerhouse around investments in Africa”

This year, alongside our founding partners, we had the participation of institutions such as the United Kingdom Export Finance, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), International Finance Corporation, Saudi Arabia Ministry of Investments, United States Trade and Development Agency, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, among several others.

We are building a financial powerhouse around investments in Africa.

Talking of results, it is now time to unveil the results of the Africa Investment Forum 2023 Market Days boardrooms.

And now, it gives me great pleasure to announce that thanks to all your collective efforts, the Africa Investment Forum 2023 was a great success.

We successfully secured $34.82 billion of investment interests!

What an incredible achievement, all in just 72 hours!

I said, “let’s do it again.” And we did it! And you did it! Thank you very much once again.

These investments will deliver transformative impacts on the lives of people. That is the bottom line of the Africa Investment Forum: investing to improve lives.

So many people worked so hard to make this Forum such a great success.

The most important are you the participants! A very big thank you!

A big thank you to our heads of state and government, ministers and government leaders.

A big thank you to the project developers.

A big thank you to the investors.

A big thank you to the government and the people of Morocco for incredible support.

A big thank you to my own Executive Directors at the African Development Bank, several of whom participated actively.

A big thank you to the senior management and staff of the Africa Investment Forum founding partners: the African Development Bank, the Africa Export-Import Bank, Africa50, the Africa Finance Corporation, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Trade and Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank and the European Investment Bank.

You all did a great job!

Isn’t this venue so beautiful?

A big thank you the event manager: Capital Events Limited, who in such a short period of time managed to deliver such an impressive event.

We could not have pulled this off without the Senior Director of the Africa Investment Forum, Chinelo Anohu and all the staff of the African Development Bank and partner institutions, that worked together.

Of course, I have fantastic senior leadership at the African Development Bank, led by my Senior Vice President, Swazi Tshabalala, the Vice Presidents who are here—Solomon Quaynor, Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, Beth Dunford, Kevin Kariuki, thank you so much for your great work.

And of course, how would we have been able to function if we couldn’t listen to each other, her each other and understand each other? That would not have been possible without interpreters. So please join me in thanking the interpreters for a fantastic job. Thank you very much!

And, of course, every event has to be beamed all around the world, journalists and media houses beaming all the things we were doing around the world, telling the positive story about Africa, projecting Africa in a very positive sense to the world. Please thank the journalists.

Finally, a very big thank you to all the medical staff, security officials, the protocol officials, the drivers, the catering staff, who all worked day and night to keep us safe and comfortable.

I wish you all safe trips back home.

Thank you very much.

Merci beaucoup.

Muito obrigado.

Shukran.

See you all next year!

* AIF Closing Speech – Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina – Africa Investment Forum 2023 – November 10, 2023 – Marrakesh, Morocco