Hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's U.S.-Africa Business Center, top U.S. and African government and private sector leaders gathered on October 25 for a high-level business roundtable, "Catalyzing Innovative Financing for Digital Infrastructure in Africa," to explore the opportunity to unlock partnerships and further investment in Africa's digital infrastructure.
The business roundtable, sponsored by Cybastion, was held on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings.
HE. Abdourahmane Sarr, Senegal's Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation, and key stakeholders from U.S. government agencies, including Prosper Africa and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, discussed strengthening collaboration between U.S. and African development finance institutions and identifying financial tools to drive digital infrastructure projects.
Kendra Gaither, president of the U.S.-Africa Business Center, opened the panel discussion by drawing attention to the tremendous opportunities digital infrastructure offers for U.S. businesses.
Serge Ekue, President of the West African Development Bank (BOAD), delivered his opening speech in which he highlighted the demographic dividends the continent offers: a large market and a young, digitally savvy population. BOAD is a regional development finance institution serving Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
“Digital transformation is an enabler,” Ekue said. “Digital transformation gives us the opportunity to move faster. »
Ekue said BOAD has the capacity to finance large-scale digital infrastructure projects and is actively seeking bankable projects that align with its strategic objectives and priorities.
Executives from Citibank and Vista Bank discussed how to work with U.S. banks to facilitate financing for U.S. investments in digital infrastructure projects in West Africa.
Dr. Thierry Wandji, President of Cybastion, highlighted that catalytic financing is essential to finance digital transformation in the countries where Cybastion operates. To date, Cybastion has signed investment agreements with over 10 African countries to drive digitalization and build digital infrastructure anchored by a sovereign data center.
