Hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-Africa Business Center, top U.S. and African private sector and government leaders gathered on Oct. 25 for a high-level business roundtable, “Catalyzing Innovative Financing for Digital Infrastructure in Africa,” to explore unlocking partnerships and greater investment in Africa’s digital infrastructure.
The business roundtable, sponsored by Cybastion, was held on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings.
H.E. 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 development finance institutions from the U.S. and Africa and identifying financial tools to drive digital infrastructure projects.
Kendra Gaither, President of the U.S.-Africa Business Center, opened the roundtable drawing attention to the tremendous opportunities in digital infrastructure for U.S. businesses.
Serge Ekue, President of the West African Development Bank (BOAD), delivered opening remarks where he highlighted the demographic dividends that the continent offers: a large market and a youthful digital-savvy population. BOAD is a regional development finance institution serving Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.
“Digital transformation is an enabler,” said Ekue. “Digital transformation gives us the opportunity to go faster.”
Ekue said BOAD has the capacity to finance large-scale digital infrastructure projects and is actively looking for bankable projects that align with its strategic goals and priorities.
Executives from Citibank and Vista Bank weighed in on how to collaborate with US banks to facilitate the financing of US investment in digital infrastructure projects in West Africa.
Dr. Thierry Wandji, President of Cybastion, emphasized that catalytic financing is essential to fund digital transformation in countries where Cybastion operates. To date, Cybastion has signed investment agreements with over 10 African countries to boost digitization and build digital infrastructure anchored by a sovereign data center.
