(AfDB) - The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group and the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) founding partners have approved the postponement of the 2020 Africa Investment Forum to 2021, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The annual three-day investment marketplace was initially scheduled for November 2020 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The decision follows a careful evaluation of the impact and evolution of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the attendant risk of a possible second wave, and its associated effects on global travel, investments, as well as social distancing rules.

The Forum will continue to curate new deals, track investments and advance the financial closure of transactions and existing deals through its innovative digital platforms.

At the 2019 Africa Investment Forum, 57 deals valued at $67.7 billion were tabled for discussions. Fifty-two deals worth $40.1 billion secured investment interest.

In July this year, the AIF Founding partners pledged to strengthen strategic partnership engagement and commitments for Africa Investment Forum Market Days 2021, to help "reboot investments in Africa." They underscored the need to boost local manufacturing while leveraging the continent’s vast resources to unlock investment.

The Africa Investment Forum relies on four pillars to achieve its objectives: connecting, engaging, closing, and tracking investments.

The Africa Investment Forum founding partners are the African Development Bank, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank); Africa Finance Corporation; Africa50, the Islamic Development Bank, the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the Trade and Development Bank.