Chinelo Anohu

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“I explained to African Business why in the current crisis, originating transactions is more important than ever.”

“At the Africa Investment Forum, we distil the talk into projects.”

“So we’re involved throughout the value chain, all year round, providing the tools and instruments and know-how to make a deal bankable and helping it see the light of day. Of course, each deal is different and our role will change depending on the needs.”

“With the AIF, which is a flagship initiative of the African Development Bank along with seven other founding partners, we are preparing projects for bankability and helping projects progress through the different steps, the next one being raising capital and once that is done also working to unlock the bottlenecks that can cause some deals to not reach closure.”

“So through the AIF platform we’re helping people join us as partners and shifting the discussion to one of investments. And I see that this approach does resonate in the American market and US investors.”

“They say, this is what you need because you have not articulated your own needs in a manner that you can present it so that it will be addressed. The continent also has not understood its part in solving its own problems, nobody will do it for you. You’re going to have to rise and do it yourself.”

“That brings me to your direct question about the perception of the Americans in business. You have to deal with people telling you what they think is good for you because you’re not able to speak for yourself.”

“That’s what we’re doing now with the Africa Investment Forum. Again, building a platform that is multi-transactional, multi-disciplinary and very deal-oriented. We are trying to get away from the endless talk about what needs to be done in Africa to actually doing stuff and we’re doing it one transaction at a time. We distil the talk into projects. We are working with the creative industry, for example, and doing a lot of work and seeing how we can channel funds to where it is needed, not just where people think it is needed.”

“And I suppose this is a continuation of a culture that goes back to my days at Pencon. There was a lot of talk on pension reform and many people were saying that it wasn’t possible. It took a few senior people and a very willing President Obasanjo to back us and we pushed through the pension reform and did it in such a way that it remains sustainable”

“We are constantly putting things on the table that weren’t there before and constantly refusing to take no for an answer when it comes to Africa.”

“The Lagos to Abidjan corridor highway project has been well documented and it’s fully subscribed – the road, the rail connection. So, now we are working on the next step which is logistics, storage, warehousing along this corridor. That’s what the boardrooms will be focusing on during the AIF. Making transactions happen and getting real investor interest in critical projects that will help drive transformation and development.”

“This is something we incredibly proud of and when we talk about women in business, we’re helping make it a reality. We’re helping create scale and impact. This year, mining especially what are termed green minerals. We have many technology projects and also projects around logistics.”

“We are helping to channel monies to women-led and businesses with a gender lens. We have a dozen deals on our platform starting from $2m – a sheer butter business – to a multi-billion refinery business. Their stories are amazing when you look at the obstacles they’ve had to overcome, the challenges and sheer tenacity and not just the will but also the mental acumen to pursue the deals to where they are now.”

“Before I talk about deals, I would like to talk about something that is paramount to me: women as investment champions. This is something I am most proud of, the launch of the Women as Investment Champions.”

“We are helping structure this, and helping channel investments towards this. The same applies to the creatives, and making sure that we are monetising our creations.”

“Around sports you have the merchandising, you have the whole ecosystem, the infrastructure and for those watching these sports, the hotels, the shops, the licensing. This is why people are paying billions for sports franchises.”

“But we want to look at it more than just an athlete or a singer. We are looking to creating the framework so that we monetise the IP. Others are currently making money from our talent.”

“Talent is not the issue on the continent. We have it in abundance. We are naturally blessed in sports and in the creatives.”

“The same principles that we discussed earlier still need to be applied to these sectors. Thinking about scale, structuring projects properly, creating awareness around the impact and upside.”