Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam has acknowledged that substantial financing is required to drive the continent’s transformation, noting this need can only be met through close collaboration with the private sector.
According to him, the imperative to mobilise private sector financing is so clear; particularly at a time when public finances across the continent have been impacted by multiple crises.
Speaking on the theme ‘Mobilising the private sector to accelerate Africa’s transformation’ at the Governors’ Dialogue at the ongoing 2024 African Development Bank Annual General Meetings, he noted that the United Nations estimate approximately US$1.3trillion will be required annually to meet Africa’s sustainable development needs by 2030.
“In fact, a report by this Bank indicates that ensuring access to electricity in Africa by 2030 will require over US$35billion annually, while around US$45billion is needed per year to achieve Africa’s renewable energy goals,” he said.
The minister revealed that the situation has aggravated most African countries owing to their increasing vulnerability to Climate and unmet climate financing pledges, prompting them to dedicate scarce public resources to climate action.
“Therefore, private finance is essential for plugging the gap and further mobilising additional resources to meet ever-increasing needs. Private finance certainly has a critical role. We must focus on how to do this at scale and speed,” he stated.
The private financing, Dr Amin revealed, rests on factors such as macroeconomic fundamentals, political risk and quality of infrastructure; and an ability to harness the sector’s potential would ensure adequate revenue mobilisation.
The minister asserted that for governments to attract sufficient private capital for development, it is important to provide incentives and conditions which catalyse private investments – including formulating, implementing and significantly improving the low technical, human and institutional capacity limiting the continent’s overall ability to secure private finance; and strengthen domestic and continental financial institutions to leverage more private capital across the globe
Citing Ghana’s case, he stated the country’s aggressive pursuit of bolstering vibrant small and medium enterprises to stimulate economy recovery and ensure sustainable growth.
He also touched on the Ghana Mutual Programme Dialogue Framework, which is a public-private partnership aimed at attracting foreign and local investment by promoting shared growth.
