Bloomberg, AfDB start initiative to attract investment in Africa

Michael Bloomberg and the African Development Bank have launched a partnership aimed at attracting more private sector investment on the continent.

The goal is to work with companies and investors across the world to raise more awareness about the opportunities in Africa and help the AfDB - the continent’s main multilateral lender - channel more money into areas that will boost jobs and development.

“Africa has enormous opportunities for economic growth and innovation, and this new partnership with the African Development Bank will help to unlock more of it by reducing barriers to private investment,” Bloomberg, the founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, said in a statement.

The initiative, which will be implemented through the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, was announced at the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Forum in New York.

Africa requires hundreds of billions of dollars annually to ensure sustainable growth, improve livelihoods and adapt to climate-related changes, according to the statement.

The idea is to “create a financial framework that serves Africa better - and on its own terms,” said Sidi Ould Tah, president of the AfDB.

Bloomberg LP is the parent company of Bloomberg News.

At the same forum, 17 African governments committed to increase people’s access to power. That is part of an AfDB-World Bank plan to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.

The number of countries now committed to the program stands at 29, according to World Bank President Ajay Banga, who was at the forum.

“Electricity is the first building block of jobs, of enterprise and dignity,” Banga said. “Electricity is a human right, and we must do something about it.”

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