A report published in March by IFC reveals that Sub-Saharan Africa could grow by 2.6% by closing the infrastructure gap. 

The study reveals that the region’s GDP per capita will rise by 1.7% a year if it catches up with the rest of the world’s average quantity and quality of infrastructure. Once sub-Saharan Africa fills that infrastructure gap, its growth will then increase to 2.6% points per year.

IFC also informs that the region will greatly benefit from an increase in its electricity generation capacity and extension of the road network. It further reveals that the public-private partnerships (PPP) in the infrastructure market remains weak in sub-Saharan Africa. Only four countries in the region (South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda) account for 48 percent of the 335 total PPP infrastructure projects over the past 25 years. These projects have mainly been concentrated in energy (78%) and transport (22%) sectors.

Therefore, the financial institution recommends that those countries establish an institutional and regulatory framework favorable to PPP, specifying that private investors will not be attracted by poorly chosen and hastily prepared projects or even by countries with high sovereign risk.