Sudanese-British telecoms billionaire Mo Ibrahim summed up the sentiments of many Africans attending the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C. this week.
The unprecedented Aug. 4-6 gathering brought nearly 50 African heads of state and a blue-chip contingent of the continent’s entrepreneurs to the U.S capitol to be persuaded that the United States is ready, willing, and able to stand with them in their continent’s march to prosperity.
“I’m actually a little bit amazed that all those Africans I met on the plane … are coming all the way here to America to tell the very smart, well-informed American business people that ‘guys, you know what, there is a good opportunity in Africa.’ They should do some homework,” Ibrahim said. “Everywhere in Africa there are Chinese business people, there are Brazilian business people. None of us went to Brazil, or to Asia or to China to tell them, look, come and invest in Africa. They found out themselves and they come and invest.”
Here’s a summary of commitments made at the summit, in the context of “putting your money where your mouth is.”
* President Obama raised the annual U.S. commitment to Power Africa to $300 million. The new commitment brings Power Africa’s aggregate goal to 30,000 mega watts of electricity. President Obama launched the Power Africa initiative in June 2013, with a goal of doubling access to energy in Africa in five years.
* President Obama announced private sector commitments of more than $20 billion to Power Africa, including new investments in the Beyond the Grid program that brings off-grid and small-scale energy solutions to rural communities.
* The World Bank committed $5 billion in new technical and financial support for energy projects in the six African countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, and Tanzania) that have partnered with Power Africa. The bank also said it plans to start approving low-interest credit and loan guarantees this year for the roughly 15 to 20 power projects it has identified for financing in those countries.
* Sweden, through its finance minister who attended the Corporate Council on Africa’s Business Forum’s Power Africa Luncheon on Aug. 4, committed $1 billion to complement the U.S. government’s $7 billion investment in Power Africa. Finance Minister Anders Borg said the commitment includes credit guarantees and other measures to help mitigate the risks to private sector investors in African energy.
* USAID and the Rockefeller Foundation announced a $100 million Global Resilience Partnership to invest in climate preparedness, adaptation, and inclusive economic growth. In Africa, the Global Resilience Partnership will build on existing efforts in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa to improve drought cycle management and expand climate-resilient agricultural practices, helping communities build economic and environmental resilience and break the cycle of recurrent crises.
* The United States announced more than 1,300 fellowships and long-term training opportunities through Feed the Future, its global hunger and food security initiative, to harness scientific innovation and technology in agriculture and nutrition in African countries. This training is intended to contribute to climate-smart agriculture and reduce global hunger, poverty and undernutrition.
* Private-sector companies announced $7 billion in new commitments to promote agricultural development in Africa, as part of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition launched in 2012 at the G8 Summit at Camp David.
* Coca-Cola Co. announced plans to spend more than $5 billion in Africa over the next six years on manufacturing facilities and production equipment, bringing its proposed investments in Africa to $17 billion for 2010 to 2020.
* General Electric Co. said it will invest $2 billion in Africa by 2018 to help boost infrastructure and access to energy. GE’s Africa operations generated more than $5 billion in revenue in 2013.
* Procter & Gamble Co. said it is investing $300 million in a new manufacturing plant near Lagos, the commercial hub of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and largest economy.
* Marriott International Inc. said it plans $200 million in investments across Africa.
* IBM made a $66 million commitment to provide technology services to Ghana’s Fidelity Bank. The company said it will invest more than $2 billion in the continent over seven years.
* U.S. private-equity firm Blackstone Group and Nigeria’s Dangote Industries announced a $5 billion partnership for energy infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa. Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest businessman, heads Dangote Industries.
* Multi-platinum recording artist Akon outlined his investment in Akon Lighting Africa, aimed at providing power to a million households by the end of 2014 using solar energy. Akon is the son of Senegalese immigrants to the United States.
* InterAction, the leading alliance of American NGOs, announced an investment by its members of $4 billion over the next three years to promote maternal health, children’s health, and the delivery of vaccines and drugs.
