{"id":58397,"date":"2025-06-29T12:45:47","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T12:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/african-leaders-urge-u-s-investment-partnerships"},"modified":"2025-06-29T12:56:05","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T12:56:05","slug":"african-leaders-urge-u-s-investment-partnerships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/african-leaders-urge-u-s-investment-partnerships","title":{"rendered":"African Leaders Urge U.S. Investment Partnerships"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>African leaders have called on Monday for an urgent review of U.S. tariffs on African exports, urging a shift towards transformative partnerships and investment in Africa\u2019s economic potential.<\/p>\n

Addressing more than 2,000 government and business leaders, and other delegates at the U.S.-Africa business summit in the capital Luanda, Angolan President Joa\u0303o Lourenc\u0327o said: \u201cIt is time to replace the logic of aid with the logic of investment and trade.\u201d<\/p>\n

He urged U.S. companies to diversify beyond traditional oil and mineral extraction and invest in sectors such as automotive manufacturing, shipbuilding, tourism, cement production, and steel production.<\/p>\n

African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, added, \u201cWe\u2019re not seeking aid, but building co-created solutions.\u201d He called for the removal of punitive tariffs and visa restrictions, noting that Africa\u2019s 1.3 billion people and abundant resources remain among the world\u2019s most significant untapped economic opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis should not just be a summit, but a call to action. Together, let\u2019s walk the pathways to prosperity\u2014with unity, purpose, and Agenda 2063 as our guide,\u201d he told the summit.<\/p>\n

In his remarks, African Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said, \u201cWe should review the high tariffs on African countries. What is needed is more trade between Africa and the U.S., not less.\u201d<\/p>\n

African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretary General Wamkele Mene reinforced Africa\u2019s integration agenda, highlighting the importance of open regional markets. \u201cThe undertaking of the AfCFTA is an ambitious one\u2014It has to be ambitious,\u201d Mene said. He emphasized that the success of AfCFTA is essential to scale investment, reduce fragmentation, and accelerate industrial development across the continent.<\/p>\n

From rhetoric to action: Building real partnerships<\/p>\n

The central message was clear: the era of aid dependency is over, and the time for transformative investment partnerships has arrived. The leaders called for bold, strategic investments to unlock Africa\u2019s trillion-dollar potential.<\/p>\n

Responding to the call for deeper engagement, U.S. officials acknowledged Africa\u2019s growing economic importance and the need to reset perceptions. Senior State Department Bureau Official Troy Fitrell said, \u201cThere are business leaders in the U.S. who need to understand the opportunities that lie in doing business with Africa. Our mission going forward will be to find them\u2014and bring them in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S.-Africa Business Summit promotes economic cooperation and investment between the United States and Africa with a focus on fostering sustainable and inclusive economic growth. By bringing together leaders from government, business, and civil society, the summit provides a platform to discuss key issues and opportunities in the U.S.\u2013Africa relations, ultimately driving growth and development on both sides.<\/p>\n

Adesina pointed to the Lobito corridor as a concrete example of strategic investment already underway.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why the African Development Bank is a key strategic partner with the U.S., Angola, and Zambia on the development of the Lobito corridor,\u201d he said. This critical corridor will link the vast areas of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the port of Angola, improving mineral supplies, unlocking agricultural potential, and creating jobs.<\/p>\n

The African Development Fund, the soft loan arm of the Bank Group, will be providing $500 million in support of the development of the Lobito Corridor. Additionally, the African Development Bank will provide $1 billion over five years for complementary investments around the corridor, including agricultural value chains, roads, and energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Act on the data, not perceptions<\/p>\n

The Bank President went further: \u201cAs we build transport corridors, let us also build strategic partnership corridors. Strategic partnerships that prioritize capital investments in infrastructure, agriculture, minerals industrialization, and development of digital infrastructure, as well as capital markets.\u201d<\/p>\n

He charged U.S. investors: \u201cAct on the data, not perceptions. Think Africa. Think opportunities. Think competition. From the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to the Export-Import Bank of the United States, as well as institutional investors and capital allocations, invest in Africa. Let\u2019s make America and Africa great again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corporate Council on Africa President Florie Liser challenged summit delegates to embrace true partnership: \u201cBeyond deals, let\u2019s strive for lasting transformation.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of the opening ceremony of the Summit, the Corporate Council on Africa honored Dr. Adesina with its Distinguished Economic Leadership Award, recognizing his significant contributions to Africa\u2019s transformation.<\/p>\n

Council Deputy Chairman, Mr. Jean Raymond Boulle, conferred the award, describing how the African Development Bank has impacted millions of Africans under Adesina\u2019s leadership, while transforming the Bank to a world-class institution and a partner of choice.<\/p>\n

Akinwumi Adesina, who will complete his second and final five-year term as President of the African Development Bank Group on 31 August, has led for the past decade transformative projects across Africa under the Bank\u2019s five strategic priorities, the \u201cHigh 5s\u201d. They have positively impacted the lives of more than 565 million people on the continent.<\/p>\n

Speaking at a high-level event hosted by Africa50, a pioneering infrastructure investment platform dedicated to accelerating project development and delivery across Africa, Adesina emphasized the urgent need to scale local financing solutions\u2014especially in local currencies\u2014to mitigate forex volatility, reduce risk mismatches, and enhance the bankability and stability of infrastructure projects for global investors.<\/p>\n

The event, titled \u201cUnlocking Capital for Africa\u2019s Infrastructure through Innovative Finance,\u201d featured a high-level panel discussion on asset recycling, moderated by CNN\u2019s Richard Quest, with insights from Alain Ebobisse\u0301, CEO of Africa50; Brook Taye, Director General of Ethiopia Investment Holdings; and Armando Manuel, Chairman of Fundo Soberano de Angola.<\/p>\n

Together, they explored how innovative models, such as asset recycling, can unlock capital and accelerate infrastructure development across Africa.<\/p>\n

Alain Ebobisse\u0301 stated that the asset recycling model has been successfully implemented in many countries worldwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn implementing this initiative in Africa, we are pursuing three objectives. First, monetizing assets\u2014ensuring that, instead of owning only a bridge, you receive cash that you can reinvest in your assets. Second, improving the efficiency of the asset by bringing in first-class operators to help us manage those assets. Third, and most importantly, we aim to bring pension funds and other investors interested in cash flow-generating assets to finance these projects,\u201d Ebobisse\u0301 explained.<\/p>\n

Adesina said over the past decade, the African Development Bank Group has invested over $55 billion in infrastructure, including regional projects, making the Bank the largest financier of infrastructure in Africa.<\/p>\n

The African Development Bank established Africa50 as a private equity infrastructure platform, comprising a project development company and a project finance company, to support the development of infrastructure with market-rate returns.<\/p>\n

Africa\u2019s missing share of a $2.9 trillion opportunity<\/p>\n

The Bank President informed the audience that, in the past eight years since its establishment, Africa50 has invested in a portfolio of infrastructure projects worth over $8 billion.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut more is needed, especially from private sector investors,\u201d stated Adesina. \u201cAfrica should be well positioned to attract some of the $2.9 trillion global green bonds. However, the continent represents less than 1% of global green bond issuance. Because most of Africa\u2019s infrastructure is yet to be built, this represents a huge opportunity for green bond issuances to build green infrastructure, reduce carbon emissions, and build climate resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n

The African Development Bank launched the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA) to mobilize $500 million for project preparation and development, as well as $10 billion for green infrastructure investments. Africa50 is the General Partner for the AGIA-Project Development Fund, with several Limited Partners, including the G7 countries.<\/p>\n

To mitigate risks at scale across Africa, the African Development Bank is establishing the Africa Risk Mitigation Agency, which will consolidate all banks\u2019 guarantee instruments into a single entity. The entity will support guarantees for equity risk, climate risk, refinancing risk, and political risk.<\/p>\n

He emphasized that Africa50 is also pioneering asset recycling, enabling governments to recover their investment in infrastructure by transferring brownfield assets to the private sector. This can help to reduce debt burdens and provide liquidity for governments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Senegambia bridge, which the African Development Bank financed with $104 million, was the first to be used for the asset recycling program. It worked successfully, as Gambia received $104 million it spent back through Africa50,\u201d he added. \u201cFollowing this, several asset recycling initiatives are being proposed for many infrastructure projects financed for governments by the African Development Bank Group.\u201d<\/p>\n

The renewed momentum for U.S.-Africa business partnerships received strong political backing, with the participation of seven Heads of State, several Prime Ministers, and leaders of key regional organizations.<\/p>\n

Attending dignitaries included Presidents Denis Sassou Nguesso (Republic of the Congo), Faustin-Archange Touade\u0301ra (Central African Republic), Fe\u0301lix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Taye Aske Selassie (Ethiopia), Duma Gideon Boko (Botswana), Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (Namibia), and Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema (Gabon); Prime Ministers Gervais Ndirakobuca (Burundi), Robert Beugre\u0301 Mambe\u0301 (Co\u0302te d\u2019Ivoire), Russell Mmiso Dlamini (Eswatini), Manuel Osa Nsue Nsua (Equatorial Guinea), Christian Louis Ntsay (Madagascar), and Deputy Prime Minister Nthomeng Justina Majara (Lesotho); as well as Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Ambassador Gilberto Da Piedade Verissimo, Chairperson of the Economic Community of Central African States, and Elias M. Magosi, Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community.<\/p>\n\r\n