The Investing in Africa Forum (IAF) was established in 2015 as a global platform for multilateral cooperation and promoting opportunities to increase investment in Africa. It is intended to be an annual multi-stakeholder gathering, bringing together representatives of the public and private sectors from China and Africa, international and continental institutions, development partners, and think tanks to deepen policy dialogue, share experiences, and discuss business opportunities to promote and support investment and sustainable development in Africa. It was first initiated by China Development Bank (CDB) with the full endorsement of the Chinese Government and won the strong support of the World Bank Group (WBG) and multiple African countries.
The 2017 Forum follows prior IAFs held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2015) and Guangdong, China (2016) and aims to promote lessons learned in the development trajectories of China and Africa as well as to accelerate investment on the continent. This year’s Forum will be hosted by Senegal, a dynamic West African country that has grown at more than 6 percent over the past two years and is committed to building a diverse, inclusive and innovative economy.
As global growth becomes more uncertain, and increasingly driven by technology, it is more important than ever to build strong ties between China and Africa to promote innovation and help the continent leapfrog into the future. Under the overarching theme of Leapfrogging through Innovation, six key topics will be discussed: (i) Energy; (ii) Agriculture and Agribusiness; (iii) Information and Communication Technologies; (iv) Education; (v) Finance; and (vi) Governance and Sustainability. The Forum will be predominantly forward-looking and results-oriented, and will showcase a number of projects in Africa with committed or prospective investments from China.
The third IAF will also mark the official debut of the “Investing in Africa Think Tank Alliance” (IATTA), a platform to synergize the intellectual capabilities of research centers and the capital strengths of development finance institutions to promote sustainable and inclusive development in Africa. The IATTA was initiated at the first IAF in Addis Ababa in 2015 and launched at the second IAF in Guangzhou in 2016. This year, with the signing of the MoU and the launch of its first Report on the Drivers and Constraints of Technological Adoption and Innovation that will identify knowledge gaps and propose practical policy guidance on how to spur leapfrogging in African countries, the IATTA will take practical steps to place knowledge generation and dissemination of potentially transformative ideas at the center of investment strategies and operations on the continent.