World Bank: Unleashing the Power of Africa’s Private Sector Key to Continent’s Growth
TOKYO, October, 2012 – The private sector is a key but underused resource for Africa’s development, as much of the continent’s savings go yet untapped for investment. Speaking at the Africa Investor CEO Summit in Tokyo, Makhtar Diop, World Bank Vice President for Africa, stressed that public private partnerships (PPPs) can be an important instrument to mobilize these resources and address the estimated US$30 billion per year infrastructure financing gap in Africa, particularly in energy and transport.
Diop highlighted that despite the global economic crisis, growth prospects in Sub-Saharan Africa remain very positive at an expected 4.8% in 2012, while private capital flows will slow somewhat. According to him, the region’s resilience in face of the international crisis is a testam...