(Ecofin Agency) - In 2021, the coronavirus Omicron variant pushed the AfDB to postpone the African Investment Forum. For this new on-site edition, the forum gathers about 1500 participants under the theme "Building Economic Resilience through Sustainable Investments".

The African Development Bank (AfDB) launched earlier today, the 2022 edition of its Africa Investment Forum (AIF) which brings together leaders, experts, and entrepreneurs from around the globe. This new edition, the third since the launch of the Forum, is held in Abidjan from November 2 to 4, 2022.

This year’s edition gathers about 1500 participants around the theme "Building economic resilience through sustainable investments". The forum, held a few months ahead of COP27 (Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Nov 6-18, 2022), will be an opportunity to call for energy and climate investments, mainly.

Apart from energy and climate investments, the forum will also call for investments in food security and self-sufficiency, ICT/telecommunications, institutional capital, health, as well as trade and industry, which are considered vital sectors for African economies.

In line with AfDB's objectives, the AIF offers private investors a reliable platform to find bankable projects. It is also a privileged discussion forum to discuss with public authorities, allowing stakeholders to raise funds for major projects that contribute to the development of the African continent.

"This AIF edition is being held in a particularly difficult context marked by the negative consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine crisis coupled with political and security challenges that threaten peace and stability on the continent. […] It is necessary to strengthen our countries’ economic resilience- against external shocks notably- and ensure our economic and food sovereignty. […] In that regard, the private sector, which is the growth driver in Africa, has a key role to play," said Tiémoko Meyliet Koné, Vice President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, during his inaugural address.

During the first two editions, US$46.9 billion and US$67.7 billion were respectively raised. According to Ivorian Vice president Koné, hopes are high that this year’s edition -the first on-site edition since the one held in 2019, in Johannesburg, South Africa- would bring over US$100 billion in investments.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou

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