The African continent "offers arguments to convince in terms of investments", said Monday, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Akinwumi Adesina in Johannesburg where opened the second edition of the Forum Invest in Africa or African Investment Forum (AIF) in the presence of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and his counterparts Rwandan (Paul Kagame) and Ghanaian (Nana Akufo-Addo), APA found on the spot.

"African investment forum deals with practical issues to speed up the conclusion of contracts. Africa offers arguments to convince in terms of investment (...) Africa is serious and wants to think outside the box, "said Mr. Adesina in front of more than 2000 delegates from 109 countries of the world including 49 from Africa, taking part in this second edition of the African investment forum dedicated to women's empowerment.

"Africa is rising, Africa is confident," he continued, referring to the Nobel Peace Prize awarded this year to the Ethiopian Prime Minister and the South African Springboks who won the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

On the economic front, the continent is recording a high growth rate with six countries whose economies are among the best performing in the world, welcomed the AfDB President for whom "Africa has made a lot of progress, but it must make more efforts".

Previously, the Head of Government of Gauteng Provence (Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa and the capital of Gauteng province) David Matkhura expressed the joy of his Provence to host this forum.

"This year, the forum is even more important because it is dedicated to investing in women," he noted, adding that "we are very pleased to host this important investment platform."

For him, "Africa is endowed with many agricultural and mining resources", which is why "investing in its people, education, health and businesses is crucial". "African investment forum allows Africa to move from speech to action", concluded David Matkhura.

For three days (11, 12 and 13 November 2019), investors, sovereign wealth funds, bankers, businessmen will offer financing for projects on the continent with a focus on women's empowerment. For this second edition, nearly $67 billion in investment agreements are expected.

The first edition of the African Investment Forum held from 07 to 09 November 2018 in Johannesburg mobilized nearly $38 billion in transactions for investments on the continent.

Organized by the African Development Bank and the Government of South Africa, Africa investment forul partners include the African Finance Corporation, the Export and Import Bank for Africa, Africa 50, the Trade and Development Bank (TDB), the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the European Investment Bank (EIB).