Simply put, most projects would not get done without DFI or MDB involvement. This session gathers leading DFI and multilateral voices active across Africa to ask:

• What schemes and initiatives do our DFIs run to encourage investment into Africa?

• How do DFIs collaborate with ECAs and the private sector to get more deals done?

• What role does private capital investment play in DFI transactions?

• What does the project pipeline look like, and how will DFIs mobilise capital into Africa’s considerable infrastructure gap?

Africa can be a challenging market for exporters; high risk perceptions mean that it can be hard to source financing and make the most of the ripe opportunities in the continent. This session asks both international exporters looking to the continent, and African exporters looking at inter-continental trade:

• Do African exporters understand the potential of ECA finance? How can ECAs better educate the market on the product?

• What do international exporters need from ECAs to help them do business on the continent?

• Has the ratification of the AfCFTA improved local exporters’ abilities to export within the continent?

ECAs remain a vital ingredient in African deals. This session brings together international ECAs to consider:

• What products, policies and initiatives are ECAs offering that will be particularly useful in an African context?

• What role do ECAs have to play in Africa’s Just Transition?

• How are ECAs partnering with local African institutions to best service the continent’s needs?

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) should bring bountiful opportunities to local companies - but how can we connect these SMEs to financing? Given the tight criteria that international banks stick to, this session considers:

• How can the trade finance community help to connect African and women owned SMEs to working capital finance? 

• What role do local banks have to play? 

• What role can DFIs play in supporting women and African owned SMEs?

Despite often smaller ticket sizes, healthcare and social infrastructure projects are vital for Africa’s development. This session considers how we finance these projects:

• How are healthcare exporters securing financing for small ticket deals?

• Could longer tenors help finance social infrastructure projects?

• What role do DFIs and ECAs play in ensuring social infrastructure deals get over the line? Could we see more collaboration between the two agencies?

• What role does private capital have to play in financing social infrastructure projects?

The purpose of development finance is to support development - but how do we guarantee that our projects have a tangible social impact? This session considers:

• How do we ensure that funds earmarked for impactful projects are used as intended, and why is measuring impact important?

• How do we implement compliance and fraud prevention without 'red taping' projects which already struggle to access finance?

• How do we measure a project's impact, and why is reporting so important?

• Why should private investment partners be concerned about corruption, and why is it important to report these instances?

Whilst fossil fuels are likely to remain an important part of Africa’s energy mix, there is significant appetite for developing more renewables. This session considers:

• Sourcing bankable renewable projects in Africa

• The role of ECA and DFI backing in African renewables

• The unique challenges dealmakers face when procuring renewables project across the continent

There’s no dearth of enthusiasm when it comes to investing in Africa, but how do we ensure that there are enough bankable projects on the market to meet investment demands? This session gathers financiers, agencies, and those seeking finance to consider:

• What creative methods can we use to crowd in financing for African projects?
• What needs to be done in the procurement stage to ensure that projects are bankable?
• What qualities do projects need to have in order to attract financing?