Cairo, 1 February 2024: – As Africa continues to position itself to reap the full benefits of the drive for energy transition, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), IFC, and the legal firm White & Case partnered to host a one-day seminar to discuss “Energy Transition and Infrastructure in Africa”.
The seminar attracted about 150 participants drawn from key financial institutions, project sponsors and developers, and consultancy firms across Africa.
Afreximbank has been at the forefront in positioning Africa to navigate a just energy transition path which allows the continent to be committed to defining its optimal energy mix, balancing renewables, transition, and fossil fuels, in order to meet its energy demands sustainably.
Delivering the keynote address, Mr. Haytham ElMaayergi, Executive Vice President, Global Trade Bank, Afreximbank, commented: “Africa has a unique advantage of being able to learn from the past and pursue a sustainable form of growth right from the start. The just energy transition presents a unique opportunity for the continent to leapfrog over outdated technologies and practices, build a resilient infrastructure and adopt innovative solutions that are conducive to its economic development while also mitigating climate change”.
“Africa is undergoing a significant shift towards building a green economy fuelled by renewable energy and more sustainable practices,” said Walid Labadi, IFC Assistant General Counsel, Africa. “IFC is committed to enhance the climate change adaptation agenda by supporting Africa’s private sector and governments accelerate the transition to low-carbon and resilient economic growth, create investable projects, identify de-risking opportunities, and mobilize private and institutional capital at scale”, he added.
IFC supports emerging market companies to access the capital they need for climate transition by building capacity, setting global standards, generating a pipeline of investable projects, sharing investment risks, and creating investment mechanisms.
The seminar featured two panel discussions and three workshops aimed at empowering participants with knowledge for dealing with issues around energy transition in Africa.
A panel discussion on just energy transition examined the global approach to energy transition, non-traditional development finance institution (DFI) approach to supporting innovative solutions, how DFIs can work more collaboratively to support the development of gas reserves to power the continent, and financing of small and scalable businesses, among others.
The second panel, on infrastructure, focused on cross border infrastructure as critical factors for unlocking intra-Africa trade and reviewed the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement in terms of further accelerating the development of relevant infrastructure.
One of the workshops treated the role of gas in energy transition in Africa while the others covered the power industry and the role of disruptive technology in advancing infrastructure development.
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About Afreximbank
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. For 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank is setting up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries to effectively participate in the AfCFTA. At the end of September 2023, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at over US$33.4 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$5.8 billion. The Bank disbursed more than US$104 billion between 2016 and 2023. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure, (together, “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com
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About IFC
IFC — a member of the World Bank Group — is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2023, IFC committed a record $43.7 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of global compounding crises. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
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