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Countdown to Africa Investment Forum Market Days 2023

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investment marketplace

The Africa Investment Forum is pivotal for attracting domestic and foreign direct investment to Africa

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, October 24, 2023/APO Group/ — 

The Africa Investment Forum (AIF) 2023 Market Days is less than three weeks away. 

From 8-10 November, serious investors will gather at the Palais des Congrès in Marrakech, Morocco to participate in Africa’s premier investment marketplace. The focus this year will be on “Unlocking Africa’s Value Chains.”

The Africa Investment Forum is pivotal for attracting domestic and foreign direct investment to Africa. This multi-stakeholder, multidisciplinary platform advances projects to bankable stages, raises capital and accelerates the financial closure of investment transactions.

President Emeritus and Group Managing Director of the Trade and Development Bank Admassu Tadesse describes the Africa Investment Forum Market Days as an action-oriented gathering that focuses on getting things done.

At the 2022 event in Abidjan, Tadesse said that before AIF’s inception in 2018, “we were almost at a level of paralysis by analysis” in terms of talk about Africa’s investment needs and challenges.” He added: “But when Dr Adesina [the African Development Bank president] talked about the Africa Investment Forum focusing on business networking, deal processing, and transactions, I said, finally, we have a conference that is less talk and more action with ground-breaking transactional projects; more prospecting to get things to move on the ground.”

“I found the scale and the depth of the participation much, much larger than I expected,” said Ken Shibusawa, CEO of Shibusawa and Co, during the 2022 Market Days (https://apo-opa.info/3ol3sdy). Mr. Shibusawa described his trip to the Africa Investment Forum as well worth the long journey and a good match in terms of interests. “Our mission is to provide impact investment in Africa…we are building on this cooperation,” he said.

He expressed hope the 2023 edition would provide more opportunities for interaction with younger entrepreneurs, “with Africa, with Japan and other countries.”

Mr. Shibusawa, who is also the Vice Chairperson of the Africa Project Team at Keizai Doyukai, announced earlier this year (https://apo-opa.info/46HGC0Y) that a new company, &Capital Inc., was formed in January 2023 to promote Japanese investments in Africa. Keizai Doyukai is a private, non-profit and nonpartisan organization that brings together nearly 1,400 top executives of some 1,000 Japanese corporations.

This year’s event will build on earlier successes to foster productive engagements between the public and private sectors

“I’m here just searching for new investors for our business because we want to develop into Africa and we think that this is the best place to do that, for networking, for new ideas,” said Jacqueline Furtado Carvalho, manager of Cabo Verdean company M&J Tech, who also attended Market Days 2022.

This year’s event will build on earlier successes to foster productive engagements between the public and private sectors.

In addition to prioritising three key focus sectors—renewable energy, agribusiness, and manufacturing—the Africa Investment Forum Market Days boardrooms will feature deals from other sectors, including “disrupters” such as artificial intelligence and the internet of things, women as investment champions; and the creative and sports industries. 

Masai Ujiri, president of the National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise team Toronto Raptors, has made several appearances at the Africa Investment Forum and has urged African governments to invest in sports. At Market Days 2022, he spoke passionately about the success and growth of sports on the African continent. “We should be supporting teams here in Africa. That should be our vision. Sports is the next big thing in Africa,” Ujiri told investors. 

The continent has many characteristics of a powerhouse sports market. Its athletes are world famous across football, basketball, and track-and-field competition. And a growing and increasingly middle-class population offers a potential untapped audience for domestic sport leagues. The Africa Investment Forum’s Sports as a Business Catalyst initiative is working to make this a reality.

During the Market Days in 2022, one of the projects that attracted strong investor interest was the Abidjan-Lagos Highway project. The planned 1081-km long corridor—projected to cost $15.6 billion—will link the two cities via Accra, Lomé and Cotonou, spanning an area that generates 75% of commercial activity in the West Africa region.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is leading the project. To accelerate the mobilisation of financing and other support for the Abidjan-Lagos highway, the ECOWAS Commission held a roundtable (https://apo-opa.info/46HRL1M) with international development finance institutions on 26 September 2023, at the African Development Bank’s headquarters in Abidjan.

The Africa Investment Forum’s founding partners are standing in solidarity with the government and the people of Morocco following the devastating earthquake in early September. The partners are the African Development Bank, Africa50, the Africa Finance Corporation, the Africa Export-Import Bank, the Development Bank for Southern Africa, The European Investment Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and the Trade and Development Bank.

Previous editions of the Africa Investment Forum Market Days have secured cumulative investment interest of $142.6 billion.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

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Reload Logistics Releases Outlook Report: “Unlocking Southern Africa’s Trade Potential”

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Reload Logistics

New insights highlight infrastructure, digital innovation, and sustainability shaping regional trade

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, April 24, 2025/APO Group/ –As trade corridors expand and the demand for sustainable supply chain solutions grows, Reload Logistics (www.ReloadLogistics.com) has released an industry outlook report titled “Unlocking Southern Africa’s Trade Potential in 2025 and Beyond.” The report sheds light on transformative trends in infrastructure, trade integration, and digital innovation driving Southern Africa’s logistics landscape.

Key insights from the report include:

  • Critical Minerals Driving Growth: Southern Africa provides around 30% of the world’s critical minerals for electric vehicles, including cobalt and copper, contributing to the transition towards cleaner energy.
  • Strategic Infrastructure Investments: The Kasomeno-Mwenda Road Project is removing over 300km from DRC-to-Tanzania routes, while the Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project plans to double port capacity to 30 million tons by 2030.
  • Technological Transformation: Tech logistics solutions have improved route optimization by up to 15%.
  • Sustainability Imperatives: By 2030, demand for green logistics could reach approximately $350 billion globally, with exporters increasingly adopting lower-carbon transport options.
  • Transformative Trade Corridors: Port developments at Dar es Salaam, Durban, Walvis Bay, and Beira are enhancing efficiencies and opening cross-border opportunities.

The report projects that by 2030, the African Continental Free Trade Area will boost intra-African trade by over 50%, creating new commodity flows while regional infrastructure investments address network gaps.

Download the full report (https://apo-opa.co/3RuAwLx) to explore how your business can stay ahead in the evolving logistics landscape of Southern Africa.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Reload Logistics

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African Mining Week (AMW) to Spotlight Investor Strategies Driving Africa’s Mineral Industrialization

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Energy Capital

African Mining Week 2025 will convene global investors in Cape Town to explore financing strategies, geopolitical trends and ESG factors driving Africa’s mineral industrialization

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, April 24, 2025/APO Group/ –African Mining Week (AMW) – taking place from October 1–3, 2025, in Cape Town – will connect global investors with high-impact opportunities across Africa’s mining sector, spotlighting the strategies fueling the continent’s mineral industrialization.

A key highlight of the event will be a high-level panel, The Investor Perspective: Financing Africa’s Mineral Industrialization. The session will explore the evolving investment landscape and examine diverse financing mechanisms – including bank loans, private equity, venture capital and impact investing – that are mobilizing capital into African mining.

DFIs Drive Infrastructure Investments

Attracted by strong returns and Africa’s long-term growth potential, development finance institutions (DFIs) are ramping up investments into the continent’s mining infrastructure. In March 2025, the African Development Bank approved a $150 million loan to Mauritania’s state-owned mining company SNIM and committed $500 million to the Lobito Corridor – a strategic railway project linking Angola, the DRC and Zambia to international markets. Meanwhile, the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) is backing several critical mineral projects, including Nyanza Light Metals’ $780 million PGMs facility in South Africa, Gecamines’ expansion in the DRC, Giyani Metals’ manganese development in Botswana and FG Gold’s project in Sierra Leone. Between 2014 and 2024, AFC invested over $1 billion into Africa’s mining sector. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is also deepening its commitment, providing more than $750 million toward the Lobito Corridor, $34 million for Pensana’s Longonjo rare earths project in Angola and $3.2 million to Chillerton’s green copper development in Zambia.

Geopolitics and African Prospects

Geopolitical shifts are intensifying the global race for Africa’s critical minerals, vital for the energy transition and digital economy. From 2019 to 2023, companies from the United Arab Emirates committed over $110 billion to African projects. In early 2025, UAE-based Ambrosia Investment Holding acquired a 50% stake in Allied Gold’s projects in Ethiopia and Mali, investing $375 million to scale up gold production. Canadian mining investment on the continent has now surpassed $37 billion, with companies like Ivanhoe Mines, Fortuna Silver, Pioneer Lithium and Trigon Metals leading expansion efforts. Similarly, Australia’s mining footprint in Africa reached $60 billion in asset value in 2024, supported by firms such as Sovereign Metals, Cazaly Resources and Atlantic Lithium.

Private Placements

Private placements are emerging as a preferred capital-raising vehicle for mining ventures across Africa. Companies including Zanaga Iron Ore, Moab Minerals, Global Atomic Corporation, Premier African Minerals and Trigon Metals are leveraging this mechanism to fast-track project development and attract investor interest. As ESG criteria take center stage in investment decision-making, AMW will serve as a platform for financiers and project developers to engage on sustainability metrics, transparency and responsible investing.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power

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Moore Global Partners with U.S.-Africa Energy Forum (USAEF) to Advance Critical Minerals Investment in Africa

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Africa Energy Forum

Moore Global has partnered with the U.S.-Africa Energy Forum in Houston to enhance investment in Africa’s energy and critical minerals sectors, leveraging its financial expertise to support sustainable resource development and global market integration

HOUSTON, United States, April 24, 2025/APO Group/ –The U.S.-Africa Energy Forum (USAEF) is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Moore Global, a leading global accounting, audit and advisory network, to drive investment and collaboration in Africa’s energy sector, with a focus on critical minerals. This partnership underscores the growing significance of Africa’s mineral resources in supporting global energy transitions and securing supply chains for key industries, including oil and gas, renewables and battery technologies.

Moore Global brings decades of expertise in financial advisory, investment facilitation and strategic consulting across key markets, including Africa. With a strong presence in the region, the firm has played a pivotal role in guiding energy and natural resource investments, helping stakeholders navigate regulatory environments and optimizing project financing. Given Africa’s vast reserves of critical minerals essential for clean energy and industrial applications – estimated to hold approximately 30% of the world’s proven volumes – Moore Global’s involvement in USAEF will enhance discussions on sustainable extraction, value chain development and the continent’s positioning in global markets.

As part of the forum, Moore Global will lead a dedicated private equity session on financing African energy projects, featuring in-depth discussions on deal structuring, risk mitigation and capital deployment. As a premier platform for U.S.-Africa energy cooperation, USAEF brings together investors, policymakers and industry leaders to catalyze deals and partnerships across the energy value chain. Through this collaboration, Moore Global will provide thought leadership, financial expertise and strategic insights – reinforcing USAEF’s mission to accelerate investment in Africa’s oil, gas and critical minerals sectors. With energy security and resource independence high on the global agenda, the partnership aims to shape impactful investment strategies and policy frameworks that support Africa’s long-term growth.

Moore Global’s partnership with USAEF marks a crucial step in advancing Africa’s energy and critical minerals sectors

“We are delighted to be a key part of this forum. Our global expertise, coupled with our sector knowledge and global relationships, means we can add real value to these conversations and ongoing energy projects. Moore has a wealth of knowledge and insight to share, and I look forward to working closely with all of those involved,” said Candice Czeremuskin, Moore Global Leader, Private Equity.

“Moore Global’s partnership with USAEF marks a crucial step in advancing Africa’s energy and critical minerals sectors. With their deep understanding of financial structures and investment landscapes, they bring valuable expertise that will help bridge the gap between African resource holders and global capital markets. We look forward to working together to drive meaningful engagement and sustainable investment in Africa’s future,” said James Chester, CEO,  Energy Capital & Power.

For tickets, sponsorship opportunities and more information, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com. Join us in Houston this August to connect with the leaders shaping Africa’s energy landscape and experience the momentum that drives ECP’s events worldwide.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power

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