By Olaleke ASHAFA
VicePresident, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, will depart Abuja on Wednesday for South Africa to attend the Africa Investment Forum organised by the African Development Bank(AfDB).
Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, in a statement said the forum would officially commence on Thursday at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The forum, dubbed “Collective Deal of the Century for Investment in and the Development of Africa” by its organisers, will focus on advancing projects to bankable stages, raising capital and accelerating the financing of key projects and deals.
The forum is aimed at attracting multi-billion-dollar deals across the continent and is set to usher in a new era for Africa’s investment landscape.
The Government of South Africa, the AfDB, and several multi-lateral development partners are hosting the Forum, a key springboard for investment in the continent expected to become an annual event.
Akande said that the vice president would attend the official opening of the Forum which would be closely followed by a plenary investment roundtable.
He said that Osinbajo would feature as a distinguished panelist in the Presidential Investment Chat, one of the high-profile activities scheduled to feature at the forum.
Akande said that Osinbajo would also participate in an exclusive event for Heads of States and a selection of business executives on “moving forward Africa’s private sector development”, under the Chatham House Rules.
According to the media aide, Osinbajo is expected back in Abuja later on Thursday.
Global financial institutions such as Africa Finance Corporation, Development Bank of South Africa, Africa 50, Afreximbank, European Investment Bank, Trade and Development Bank, and the Islamic Development Bank, are forming strategic alliances around the new investment forum
