As Africa’s demand for power generation continues to outstrip supply, the question of how to finance the future of Africa’s power sector looms large.
According to organizers of the eighth Annual Powering Africa, the Finance Options Meeting will return to Cape Town, South Africa, from 30-31 October where prospective investors must fully understand the latest developments in Africa’s finance sector in order to launch successful projects and build long-term relationships with local government.
They said that private equity investments into Africa were up by 136% in 2013, with a huge chunk of that going to power and infrastructure projects.
Organizers said that Pension funds and sovereign wealth funds are also increasingly looking into long-term power projects to fund, with lenders working hard to develop debt financing models to keep up with Africa’s power market.
The meeting will welcome CEOs and senior-level directors to get to the heart of the issues and opportunities surrounding the financing of power projects in Africa, allowing for a limited number of participants to engage with key decision-makers through a series of open, uninhibited discussions taking place under Chatham House Rule.
The programme will focus on a series of open discussions chaired by regional experts focusing on key trends, including the development of IPP programmes, financial frameworks and regulatory environments.
Confirmed speakers will include Karen Breytenbach, Head: IPP Office, National Treasury, South Africa, Moremi Marwa, Chief Executive Officer, Dar Es Salaam Stock Exchange, Peter Ballinger, Director, U.S.-Africa Clean Energy Development and Finance Centre, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and Waziri Bintube, Chief Financial Officer, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, who will present regional perspectives and case studies to open the floor for discussion.
Other confirmed speakers include:
– Kamran Khan, Vice President of Compact Operations, Millennium Challenge Corporation;
– Prof. Anton Eberhard, Management of Infrastructure Reform
