ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, January 21, 2021/ -- Renewable
energy will be a critical driver of Africa’s
post-COVID-19 growth
recovery and economic prosperity, panelists in a 2021 UK Africa
Investment Summit event said Wednesday, as they called for a stronger
partnership between the United Kingdom and Africa.
The panel, themed
UK & Africa: Partnering in Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Development,
covered discussion of British innovation and experience in the context
of partnering with Africa to advance its economic development. Panel
members said investment in large-scale electrification projects would be
key.
African countries are building back better from the
coronavirus, said Louis Taylor, CEO, UK Export Finance, adding that
this presents an “unalloyed opportunity for UK investors to be part of
the African success story and for African countries to access the UK’s
support for projects.”
“The UK is still the ultimate
one-stop-shop. The UK government is still the largest G7 investor in
Africa. For instance, UK Export Finance is providing a £ 1.7 billion
guarantee to support the development of Cairo monorail in Egypt – the
UK’s biggest ever overseas infrastructure guarantee,” Taylor said.
According
to International Energy Agency data, scaling up Africa’s capacity to
achieve universal access to energy by 2030 would require over $100
billion per year, of which 40% would be dedicated to solar, wind, and
other low-carbon power generation projects.
The African
Development Bank has taken the lead in accelerating the electrification
of the continent through its New Deal on Energy for Africa, a
transformative partnership-based strategy that aims to increase access
to energy for all Africans.
“Building on the City of London’s
deep expertise in innovative financial solutions, the African
Development Bank sees promising opportunities to further expand its
program to securitize receipts from solar home systems providers,” said
Wale Shonibare, the Bank’s Director for Energy Financial Solutions,
Policy and Regulation.
Shonibare called for a structured approach
to sustainable infrastructure development and the implementation of
large-scale electrification programs, citing the Bank’s Desert to Power
initiative as an example of a project likely to attract interest from UK
businesses.
Nicholas Oliver, Business Development Director of
UK-based NMS Infrastructure Ltd, urged investors to engGE more actively
with local companies: “We need to create partnerships with governments
and local businesses. It is a great time to invest in Africa. The
African Development Bank estimates that climate change presents a $3
trillion investment by 2030. What an opportunity,” he said.
Olusola
Lawson, Co-Managing Director of African Infrastructure Investment
Managers, an infrastructure investment management firm, noted the urgent
need for access to energy in centers of high demand.
“In Africa,
you can’t have transition without electrification. In this context,
what we see is the trend from centralized large-scale power plants to a
more distributive system.”
The UK Africa Investment Conference,
hosted by the UK Department for International Trade, brings together the
UK and African businesses to explore the opportunities for partnership
and investment.
The UK has been a strong partner to the African
Development Bank in the institution’s drive to attract greater private
sector participation in African infrastructure investment. The Bank is
currently working with a number of UK institutions to improve the
enabling environment for infrastructure development in Africa.
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