Last year, the European Investment Bank (EIB) provided €3 billion of new financing that will support €10.7 billion of transformational investment across Africa.
Africa is a key priority for the European Union and the European Investment Bank. The European Investment Bank is committed to working with African partners to accelerate and expand new investment that delivers sustainable development, tackles the climate emergency, creates jobs and improves lives across Africa.
The €3 billion of new investment in Africa supported by the EU bank in 2019 builds on 57 years of engagement across 52 African countries. In recent months, the EIB has launched pioneering new initiatives to accelerate new investment essential to enabling women to fully participate in economic activity under the pioneering SheInvest programme, to ensure African innovation companies can expand and to combine our financial understanding with philanthropy to tackle malaria.
The EU bank’s engagement in Africa will enhance economic opportunities, accelerate sustainable development, ensure access to finance, communications, clean water and clean energy for millions of people across the continent, and be reinforced with European Union engagement and policy priorities.
“The impact of EIB engagement in Africa is enhanced by our unique global technical, sector and financial experience, the expertise of EIB teams in our nine African offices and close cooperation with local project partners,” said Werner Hoyer, European Investment Bank President.
Looking ahead, the EIB expects to significantly increase engagement in both sub-Saharan and North Africa and to provide €4 billion to support public and private investment across the continent in 2020.
This will include increased support for infrastructure that drives private sector growth, enabling job creation by entrepreneurs, start-up companies and corporates, and new financing for climate-related investment and sustainable development.
On 26 and 27 February, the European Investment Bank and UN-Habitat will host Africa Day 2020 in the Senegalese capital Dakar. This year’s event represents the largest ever hosted by the EIB focusing on investment in Africa.
Original source: EIB
Published on 24 February 2020
