18-Dec-18, Brink
Some institutional investors are beginning to bet that attractive risk-adjusted returns can be had from Africa’s burgeoning population, economy and tremendous infrastructure needs. Some of the largest pension funds in the US and Europe have been eyeing African investment.
%20Rodger%20Bosch_AFP_Getty%20Images.jpg "Investors are fearful of risk in African infrastructure")
Image: Rodger Bosch / AFP / Getty Images
A US-Africa partnership of investment professionals and development groups, Mobilizing Institutional Investors to Develop Africa’s Infrastructure (MiDA), notes that in 2017, its members closed on roughly USD500 million in infrastructure transactions in sub-Saharan Africa.
In order to meet the United Nations-adopted Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, an additional USD3.3 trillion in investments in African infrastructure is needed through 2040, more than USD132 billion per annum above current baseline investment levels and roughly double current investment levels.