Dalberg: W. Africa Needs to Attract $65 Billion In Next 5 Years
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Nairobi – West Africa needs $65 billion worth of invested capital over the next five years to meet its growth expectations in sectors that have economic, social and environmental impact, a new report has indicated.
According to the report by Dalberg Global Development Advisors, a strategic consulting firm, such sectors include agriculture, which accounts for more than half of the demand for capital, as well as renewable energy and water supply and sanitation.
These sectors stand out in the potential to have more significant impact than most enterprises in the region, beyond the minimum traditional expectations of creating jobs, social impact by improving employees’ livelihoods, and economic impact through increased tax revenues and the multiplier effect from increased consumption by the employees.
However, it proposes that impact investors need to broaden the range of financial products that they supply to include smaller investments in the range of $1,000 to $100,000, besides being more flexible in their investment practices and responsive to the needs of West African entrepreneurs.
