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Made In Africa Foundation Co-Founder Ozwald Boateng partners with African Development Bank to launch Africa50 fund – the largest infrastructure development investment fund
Ozwald Boateng – Co-founder of Made In Africa Foundation. PHOTO/BBC
Made In Africa Foundation Co-Founder Ozwald Boateng And African Development Bank Launch Africa50 Fund to financing and investment strategies that will develop the untapped potential of the African continent – with the help and presence of key supporters Jamie Foxx, Jay-Z and a host of luminaries
(PRNewsire) – New York – The Made in Africa Foundation (MIAF) has partnered with the AAA-rated African Development Bank (AfDB) to co-manage and market initiatives that will catalyze funding for Africa’s largest infrastructure delivery vehicle created-to-date, the Africa50 Fund.
With the critical objective of reducing the timing required to develop infrastructure projects in Africa, Africa50 is the result of experience and innovation.
Over the past five years, the African Development Bank has delivered over US$5.4 billion in critical infrastructure investment in Africa through private sector and public-private partnership financing.
Made In Africa Foundation was born when internationally renowned Ghanaian-born designer Ozwald Boateng and leading Nigerian entrepreneur Kola Aluko of Atlantic Energy realized that a few hundred million dollars of investment could change the course of economic development for the whole of Africa.
The alliance between the Made In Africa Foundation and the African Development Bank aims at raising US$500 million for Africa50’s project development arm by the first half of 2014.
The historic alliance between the Made In Africa Foundation and African Development Bank will be launched formally at the NASDAQ on September 26th, 2013 at 9:00 a.m (EDT).
On hand to kick-off the effort will be Oscar-winning actor and longtime Made In Africa Foundation supporter Jamie Foxx; Grammy-winning musician, producer and entrepreneur Jay-Z; Mr. Boateng; Kola Aluko (also Co-founder of the Made in Africa Foundation); African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Diamini-Zuma; and Sam Kutesa, Uganda’s current Minister of Foreign Affairs and the next president of the United Nations General Assembly.
This will be followed by a working lunch for MIAF hosted by Arthur Sulzberger Jr., publisher of The New York Times, which will also include Nigerian billionaires Tony Elumelu and Wale Tinubu; Made In Africa Foundation CEO Chris Cleverly; Chinese private–equity giant Patrick Zhong of the Fosun Group; ex-UK Foreign Secretary and International Rescue Committee CEO David Miliband; and other African leaders (TBA for security reasons).
Africa50 will be comprised of two funding arms: Project Development and Project Financing. The first of these arms, Project Development, will be sponsored by both the Made in Africa Foundation and African Development Bank and supported by the investment expertise of the US-based investment advisory Capri Global Capital, LLC, founded by African-American fund manager Quintin E. Primo III.
The African Development Bank, Kola Aluko and Capri Global Capital will work as a seamless team to develop unique and impactful financing and investment strategies that will develop the untapped potential of the continent.
At a recent meeting of African Central Banks in Mauritius, the African Development Bank President Donald Kaberuka explained that “to increase the rate of infrastructure delivery in Africa we need to speed up project preparation and project development. The critical objective is to shorten the time between the idea and financial close from a current average of 7 years to less than 3 years.”
Tas Anvaripour, head of Africa50, notes, “African infrastructure projects are increasingly capturing the attention of investors worldwide. However, the number of bankable infrastructure projects brought to market is still insufficient, even though they offer an excellent way to diversify investment portfolios and steady, long-term, and above average returns.”
Having closed over 40 large infrastructure private sector projects in the past five years, the African Development Bank strongly believes in the infrastructure opportunities latent in Africa.
Quintin E. Primo concurs, noting that “Capri Global Capital, along with the African Development Bank and the Made In Africa Foundation, believe that the promise of Africa is now. The extraordinary growth potential of the continent cannot be truly unlocked until critical infrastructure investments are conceived, championed and delivered. But these projects must not be charity. Rather, they must be commercially viable projects in which investors can responsibly invest. And ideally, they should not only be high impact, but offer attractive risk-adjusted returns.”
Oswald Boateng adds compelling perspective to the effort, noting that “Africa has reached a moment in time where Africans on the continent, and in the wider diaspora, are looking to effect a positive and permanent transformation of their continent that will, in turn, transform the growth potential of earth as a whole. With only 10 percent of Africa’s trade done between countries on the continent, compared to 60 to 70 percent in Europe and elsewhere, infrastructure – from railways that connect us and lights in the dark to clean water and homes worthy of the name – will enable Africa to achieve its full growth potential.”
Kola Aluko agrees that “the African Development Bank and Made In Africa Foundation initiative will act as a catalyst for growth across sectors and provide employment and spread wealth, focusing on commercially viable infrastructure projects that will build Africa – we have a duty as Africans to support our continent’s development.”
About the Made In Africa Foundation: The Made In Africa Foundation was founded in 2011 by Ozwald Boateng, Kola Aluko and Atlantic Energy to support and fund master plans and feasibility studies for transformational and large scale developments and infrastructure projects across the African continent. More information about the foundation at http://www.madeinafricafoundation.co.uk.
About Atlantic Energy: Atlantic Energy is a private upstream oil and gas company founded by Nigerian and international Exploration & Production executives with an extensive track record, market-leading insight and experience in the Nigerian independent Exploration & Production sector.
The company operates in Nigeria, but is looking to expand further onto the African continent. Atlantic Energy is currently a significant partner in multiple Oilfields in Nigeria. More information about Atlantic Energy is available at http://www.atlanticenergy.com.
SOURCE Made in Africa Foundation