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Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
Zimbabwe has become a shareholder of Africa50 and the 28th country on the continent to join the Pan-African investment fund focusing on infrastructure development.

Tweeting yesterday, Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Mr George Guvamatanga confirmed the development.

Zimbabwe joined the fund during its annual shareholders meeting in Kigali, Rwanda on Wednesday.

“Zimbabwe becomes the 28th shareholder of Africa50 following  the signing of the agreement in Kigali today. This opens the opportunity for infrastructure funding. We continue on our journey to be part of the broader global financial community,” wrote Mr Guvamatanga on Twitter.

In the 2012 Declaration on the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa, African Heads of State called for innovative solutions to accelerate infrastructure delivery.

This was after the realisation that because of limited public resources the private sector had a significant role to play in delivering the infrastructure which was necessary to support strong economic growth in the continent.

This required a greater focus on project development to generate more bankable projects and to leverage a larger pool of capital to fund them.

After broad consultations with African stakeholders, the African Development Bank established Africa50 as a new investment vehicle that was designed as an independent infrastructure fund.

It focuses on high-impact national and regional projects, mostly in the energy and transport sectors, with a particular emphasis on increasing the pipeline of investment-ready projects.

The 2019 shareholders meeting discussed investment opportunities, innovation, partnerships and the future of the continent’s infrastructure.

Africa50’s investor base is now composed of 28 African countries, the African Development Bank, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), and Bank Al-Maghrib.

It also operates as a commercial financial institution with its headquarters based in Casablanca, Morocco.