The World Bank plans to invest about $150 billion in Africa within the next five years towards promoting development on the continent, according to the President of the lender, David Malpass.
Malpass, who spoke at the Summit on Financing African Economies, held in Paris, France, said bank is committed to financing development in Africa
He disclosed that the bank has invested about $200 billion in Africa over the decade and an additional $150 billion will be invested in Africa within the next five years.
“Over the past decade, the World Bank Group has invested $200 billion in Africa, and over just the next five years, we intend to invest and mobilize another $150 billion to support the continent’s development.”
He further stated that the fund would be made available through grants and long-term, zero-interest-rate loans from the International Development Agency (IDA).
“In this context, IDA expects to remain the largest provider of positive net flows in Chad over the next decade, strengthening Chad’s ability to sustain a moderate debt burden if that can be achieved.
“However, as in other African countries, Chad’s debt sustainability is being challenged by the very limited progress on their debt reduction and transparency,” Malpass said.
He added there is a need for large inflows of long-term resources in Africa so as to address the challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Africa needs large inflows of long-term resources. In addition to IDA, another important part of our support to Africa will be mobilization of the private sector, either directly through IFC (International Finance Corporation) and MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) mobilizations or indirectly through the mobilization of funding by IDA and IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) on capital markets,” Malpass stated.
The President of the World Bank Group also said that he had discussed with the French President Emmanuel Macron on some initiatives that would help boost development in Africa. Some of these initiatives include closing the infrastructure gap and improving access to low-carbon electricity, expanding alternative small-business finance, and supporting agribusiness activities, with a proposal of a 3-year pilot for a user-friendly blended finance facility
