The African Investment Climate Facility (ICF), which is a public-private partnership aimed at making Africa a better place to do business by removing obstacles to domestic and foreign investment, has been widely hailed as an instrument which — unlike many previous initiatives for achieving change — will work, government and business leaders told the World Economic Forum on Thursday.
Anglo American chairperson Sir Mark Moody-Stuart noted his company’s $2,5-million contribution to the facility — which, according to Reuters chairperson and co-chairperson of the facility launched on Thursday, Niall Fitzgerald, has about $100-million so far — would be able to assist Africa in the delivery of projects. Moody-Stuart said he was optimistic that the initiative would not simply result in “just more studies”, but would be able to assist in the delivery of projects.
Moody-Stuart emphasised the need for informal business to grow into formal business, otherwise the economic growth that Africa needed would not be achieved. Red tape to business needed to be stripped away. “We are going to track that implementation very closely.”
Unilever president for Asia and Africa Harish Manwani said corporates were feeling “more confident” about the initiative working, noting that at least three presidents —South Africa’s, Mozambique’s and Tanzania’s — had committed themselves to “going for growth” during the forum plenary on Wednesday.
Manwani said looking at such things as customs clearance taking five days instead of 59 days was the sort of thing which could be fostered by the fund’s work. He noted that the “economic centre of gravity” was shifting towards the emerging markets, and Africa “must get its place” in it. He noted that consumer spending in the developing market would be bigger by 2010 than that of the developed world.
Noting that the initiative had grown out of the Gleneagles summit of the G8 last year, Benjamin Mkapa, facility co-chairperson, said that it was interesting that the United Kingdom was the only country there to have made a contribution so far.
“Some people have not put their money where their mouth was,” he said, holding that it was key that the efforts of donors assisted the improvement of the investment climate for Africa.
Both he and current Tanzanian president, Jakaya Kikwete, promised that there was the political will behind the facility to make it work. “We are going for growth … that needs a good investment climate. The political will will be there.”
With a defined seven-year life span, the facility has set out objectives to drive investment in Africa, removing real and perceived obstacles to domestic and foreign investment and preparing and promoting the continent as an investment destination. These objectives include streamlining business registration, improving customs regulation, securing property rights and making financial markets more inclusive.
In a statement earlier, Fitzgerald said: “We are confident the ICF can have an immediate and sustained impact on Africa’s future growth and development. It is a unique fund, highly accountable and focused, with a clear mandate to make a difference.”
Initial sponsors of the ICF include Anglo American, Royal Dutch Shell and Shell Foundation, Unilever, SABMiller, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, Ireland, The Netherlands, the European Commission and the International Finance Corporation. — I-Net Bridge