B-20 and the Compact with Africa: Boosting Private Investment in Africa

B-20 and the Compact with Africa: Boosting Private Investment in Africa

About the Event

This panel, which took place on April 22, 2017 at the International Monetary Fund, was jointly organized by the B-20 and the International Monetary Fund, during IMF-WB Spring Meetings. It brought together representatives from the private sector, African governments, G-20, and international organizations to explore opportunities for businesses in Africa, and discussed actions that various stakeholders can undertake to encourage the private sector to invest in the continent. 

Panelist:

Ludger Schuknecht, German Finance Deputy, G20 Presidency

Leonard Rugwabiza Minega, Government Chief Economist, Rwanda Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning

Francis Hintermann, Global Managing Director, Accenture Research

Peter Sullivan, Managing Director and Head of the Public Sector Group for Africa, Citigroup

Claudio Dicembrino, Chief Economist, Enel Group

Hans Peter Lankes, VP for Economics and Private Sector Development, International Financial Corporation (IFC)
 

Takeaways from the event:

1. The private sector speakers focused on two key priorities for promoting investment (with infrastructure as the focus):

• Developing sensible and stable regulatory frameworks, with clear ground rules for competition.

• Developing financial markets for investors to better manage risk.

2. There are limits to the transfer of risk to the public sector, which includes the national government or bilateral/multilateral donors. The private sector viewed commercial risks as                    manageable compared to political risk or the risk of policy shifts and the rewriting of the rules of the game.

3. The IFC noted their commitment to roll out a private sector diagnostics, or a bottom-up assessment of key obstacles to investment, for developing countries. This can be the foundation      for developing investment compacts.
 

Photos