Plenary IV: Bridging Africa’s Financing Gap: New Actors, Longstanding Challenges

African countries have suffered from a persistent and widening financing gap. With levels of accumulation of wealth reaching record peaks in industrialized economies, and more recently in the BRICS and Asian economies, and interest rates low, there exists a major opportunity to reorient savings toward high return projects in Africa, most notably in infrastructure. Identifying and removing the bottlenecks to this investment is vital. • What is deterring investment in Africa, even in instances where high returns are expected and political stability is fair? • How can technology (fintech, etc.) help bridge Africa’s financing gap? • What role for China and the new Development Banks? • How can the risk of investment be mitigated and effectively managed in the region? • Are there lessons from the successes of countries in Asia and Latin America?