Investors have growing role in developing infrastructure

Development finance institutions (DFIs) remain the big beasts in developing infrastructure and other major projects in much of Africa. The ‘blending’ of public and private finance has become a preoccupation for traditional donors looking to leverage their grants and loans to produce bigger funding flows to kick-start the continent’s infrastructure revolution, to catch up with sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)’s macroeconomic growth. More diversified forms of financing are being sought to underwrite power, water and other big-ticket schemes. This will inevitably need new players and asset classes, including African and international pension funds, billionaire investors, family private offices, the public listing of power developers and electricity investment companies.