Africa’s infrastructure sector received the highest proportion of private investment in 2020, sending an important signal to governments and investors.

African Development Bank Vice President for the Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization, Solomon Quaynor, underlined the point during a webinar organized by the African Development Bank and the JICA – Japan International Cooperation Agency on 24 August. The online event took place in the run-up to the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD, held in #Tunisia from 27-28 August 2022.

During the event, Quaynor added that the increased private sector investment came as most African governments contended with the #Covid19 pandemic, limited fiscal space and high debt-to-GDP ratios.

Quaynor also highlighted a recent trip to South Africa where he met with several Japanese companies with regional headquarters in Johannesburg and involved in multiple infrastructure sectors.

“Given the maturity of Japanese markets, these companies are strategically expanding globally but with clear risk-adjusted return expectations,” he said. “It’s good to see that our focus has been on solutions.”