Lusaka, Zambia. 23 May, 2016 - Speaking at the Second Continental Business Network (CBN) in Lusaka, Zambia on Monday, Minister of International Cooperation of the Arab Republic of Egypt Dr Sahar Nasr, noted that private sector investment in infrastructure across Africa should benefit local populations, especially the most vulnerable.

 “When engaging the private sector in infrastructure development projects, we should ensure that investment benefits not only the private sector, but members of the lower strata of society as well as the marginalized. Therefore engagement with the private sector needs to be mutually beneficial for the country, its population, the private sector, small and medium enterprises and various other stakeholders,” Dr Nasr said at the meeting co-organized by the NEPAD Agency, the African Union and the African Development Bank (AfDB) with support from the Development Bank of Southern Africa and Barclays Bank.

The CBN launched in Cape Town, South Africa in June 2015 is a continental platform that aims to bring together and improve dialogue and cooperation between Member States and the private sector on issues specifically related to infrastructure development. The second installment of the network which coincided with the annual meetings of the AfDB focused on the critical role that the private and public sectors need to play in de-risking infrastructure development projects identified under the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA). PIDA is a continent-wide programme to develop a vision, policies, strategies to develop priority regional and continental infrastructure in transport, energy, trans-boundary water and ICT.

Speaking on behalf of the NEPAD Agency Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ibrahim Mayaki at the opening ceremony of the event, the Agency’s Head of Regional Integration, Infrastructure and Trade, Mr. Symerre Grey-Johnson highlighted the role that the CBN plays as the continental platform between private and public sector to promote the goals of the PIDA.

Grey-Johnson underscored that the network served as an exclusive infrastructure investment advisory platform engaging African policy makers and leaders in the private sector on a range of strategic issues related to infrastructure development.

“The second CBN meeting shall allow for in-depth discussions on what can be concretely done to further promote and enhance private sector participation in PIDA, and help craft recommendations for policy interventions to address constraints that will be identified as perceived high risk to private sector investments in trans-boundary projects,” he added.

Since the launch of the CBN, 21 council members including senior private sector representatives, partners of the NEPAD agenda, and development finance institutions and international development agencies have been nominated to be members of the CBN Council.

At the meeting Public Sector Affairs Head of Barclays Africa Ms. Zienzi Musamirapamwe noted, “If we are to realize the implementation of PIDA projects, private sector cannot do it alone, neither can the public sector. The focus should be on getting different stakeholders to jointly commit to ensure that the projects are at a bankable stage, and that the risk to financing the projects are minimized.”

She called on the private sector, public sector, insurance companies, foreign investors, sovereign world funds and public private partnerships to work together to ensure that PIDA projects become a success story.

Presentations to update delegates on the 2016 CBN work plan and PIDA Priority Action Plan (PAP) projects were also done by NEPAD and African Union infrastructure representatives.

At the close of the meeting, a panel discussion on de-risking infrastructure and PIDA projects was held. Some key recommendations and outcomes from this panel discussion included the proposal to ensure the recruitment of competent infrastructure experts, development of local capital markets, standardizing and predictability of regulatory frameworks, de-risking priority projects through bilateral engagements with Heads of States and Government, improving incentives for institutional investments and increased transparency of funding plans and the need for reliable data.

The outcome of the gathering shall be presented at the upcoming African Union Heads of State Summit in July in Kigali, Rwanda and it is expected that the implementation of the outcomes will be undertaken through the work of the CBN Council.