Afreximbank announces investment conference in Kisumu

By Peter Ochieng

The African Export- Import (Afrexim) Bank in collaboration with the County Government of Kisumu and the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa), is organising the 4th edition of the African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network (AfSNET) Conference.

The conference seeks to strengthen the role of Africa’s sub-sovereign governments in driving intra-African trade and investment, and the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

According to a press release seen by this writer, the conference will take place in Kisumu City, Kenya, from 25 to 27 November, under the theme ‘Leveraging the AfCFTA for Sustainable Trade and Investment: A Development Pathway for African Sub-Sovereigns.’

“A key feature of the event will be an exhibition aimed at promoting trade at a local level, to be preceded by an investment promotion training on the first day. One of the key objectives of the conference is to foster greater collaboration in promoting trade, development and investment initiatives among African sub-sovereigns, aligned with AfCFTA’s goals,” sated the release.

Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President Intra African Trade and Export Development, Afreximbank will be among the speakers.

“Afreximbank partnered with the Forum of Regions of Africa (FORAF), an organ of the UCLG Africa under the AfSNET initiative to ensure its products and interventions for trade and investment promotion are accessible both at the local and sub-sovereign level. This resulted in the announcement of US$ 2 billion in financing to tackle the pressing financing challenges faced by sub-sovereigns and businesses,” she said.

She explained that Afreximbank will be leveraging the successes of the third AfSNET Investment Conference held during the Intra Africa Trade Fair (IATF2023) in Cairo, Egypt offering sub-sovereign governments the opportunity to showcase investment projects to potential investors and financiers, further strengthening the Bank’s commitment to facilitating impactful investments across the continent.

While inviting delegates to participate in the forum, Kisumu County governor Anyang’ Nyong’o said:

“Africa’s economic renaissance is hinged on unbridling the developmental capacity of local governments and increasing decentralisation. Despite the gains made in decentralisation in recent decades, African local governments still have low administrative and fiscal capacity to realise the much-needed local economic development.”

“AfSNET, an innovative tool of the Afreximbank, therefore comes in handy to bridge that gap and allow sub sovereigns to accelerate and improve the quality of economic growth in Africa. Its vision aligns with the aspirations of the African Sub Sovereigns umbrella organisation UCLG Africa to support decentralised governments access and participation in continental and international financial markets while also supporting the development of their fiscal capacities,” he added.

The fourth AfSNET conference will provide Kisumu County Government and the Lake Victoria region economic block an opportunity to present their development strategies and projects for consideration to investors attending the Conference.