Financing the Future: Partnerships for Africa’s Economic Transformation
On Tuesday 18th November, the Coalition for Global Prosperity and British International Investment had the privilege of hosting a private dinner against the backdrop of Africa Industrialisation Day (20th November) to discuss how the UK can champion investment across the continent through equitable partnerships.
The conversation opened with an acknowledgement that this conversation is incredibly timely as the global population is becoming increasingly African. With projections forecasting that by 2050, 1 in 3 young people will be African, there is a clear call to action for investing in Africa’s future, and thereby aligning British and African ambitions within economic partnerships. The focus on partnership was underpinned throughout by the belief that when Africa prospers the UK prospers.
The conversation then explored how investment in Africa is often met with hesitation due to perceptions of risk, fragility and dependency still being prominent in the minds of the private sector. Yet there is an opportunity to shift these perspectives through a positive promotion of cultural values across the continent. Moreover, it is through the support and investment of nations like the UK that Africa’s young and innovative workforce can be discovered. It was also noted by attendees that innovation is key when addressing the impact of climate on businesses, with Africa holding 40% of the world's renewable energy making energy-centred policies fundamental to African industrialisation. Furthermore, the continent is the most affected by global emissions yet contributes the least, within this it is support from wealthier nations, development finance institutions and the private sector that allows the countries of Africa to navigate the ever-changing climate conditions that have monumental impacts on business efficacy and sustainability.
Attendees were in consensus that equitable and sustainable partnership is central to the UK’s development priorities. It was explored how, through the vital work done by development finance institutions such as BII and their strategic investments in developing nations, economic empowerment and development can be achieved through the growth of business and industrialisation rather than through traditional giving. It was suggested that communicating the impact and model of development finance could be key to galvanising public support for value-for-money overseas initiatives.
The discussion went on to look at the impact of the aid cuts on international investment, and the key challenge to all to restore trust in the government’s effectiveness and intentions around public spending and the aid budget alike. There was a useful reminder that British support for specific impact-driven aid programmes is relatively stable when they are effectively articulated.
The dinner closed with attendees agreeing that with an increasingly younger population, investment is the best mechanism of support that we can offer to the continent and must continue to do so to address geopolitical stressors such as conflict, migration and climate change.
We were thrilled to hear remarks from Calvin Bailey MBE MP, Stella Okuzu FRSA (The Royal African Society) and Leslie Maasdorp (British International Investment) and continue the discussion with The Rt Hon Sir Andrew Mitchell KCMG MP, Sarah Champion MP, The Rt Hon Wendy Morton MP, Andrew Rosindell MP, The Rt Hon the Baroness Curran, Noah Law MP and The Rt Hon Richard Holden MP.
