COVID-19 has demonstrated the critical importance of the “5% Infrastructure Investment Agenda” championed by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA), the economic development agency of the African Union (AU) and the Continental Business Network (CBN).

The 5% Agenda, formally endorsed by African Union Heads of State, represents a pact between African asset owners (pension and sovereign wealth funds) and African Governments, to collaborate on project design and better alignment of infrastructure investment policy regimes and programmes, with the investment mandates of African asset owners. This includes pursuing the new Institutional Investor Public Partnerships (IIPP) model (similar to those successfully pursued by pension funds and the governments of Australia and Canada).

In return, African asset owners have agreed to employ best endeavours to increase their allocation of African infrastructure investment to 5% of assets under management (AUM) and support the 5% Agenda Co-Investment Platform, initiative, for African sovereign investors and international pension and sovereign wealth fund peers, to collaboratively co-invest across the continent.

The CBN established the CBN 5% Infrastructure Investment Agenda Working Group initiative, to coordinate the implementation of the 5% Agenda.

The Working Group exists to implement the 5% Infrastructure Investment Agenda Policy Statement and Roadmap, and to engage with policy makers on the enabling regulatory environment and programmatic origination of investable projects, and to pilot IIPP transactions.

The Working Group’s activities are designed to compliment the African Union Development Agency’s (AUDA’s) 5% Agenda supportive investment initiatives, championed through the African Infrastructure Investment Guarantee Mechanism (AIGM) and the Co-Guarantee Platform (CGP) housed at the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The Working Group will collaborate widely with asset owners, investment consultants, advisors and infrastructure financiers, to increase allocations to African infrastructure as an investable asset class; to originate and de-risk transactions; highlight and propose solutions to regulatory impediments and crowd-in domestic and international capital and blended finance, to build and sustain an investable, globally competitive and institutional investment friendly infrastructure sector, which supports Agenda 2063, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative (PICI) designated projects
• Projects originating from the 5% Agenda Co-Investment Platform
• AfCFTA supportive infrastructure projects
• Paris Agreement supportive infrastructure projects
• Healthcare and Agriculture infrastructure and value chain investment

• Investable Infrastructure Investment Pipeline Database initiative
• Investable Infrastructure Data initiative (performance and resource centre)
• 5% Agenda Co-Investment Platform Initiative
• COVID-19 Build Back Better Infrastructure Investment Policy Statement

Working Group members will comprise of accomplished development partners, investment consultants and advisors, supporting African asset owners with their allocation strategies and infrastructure investments or complimentary programmatic initiatives.

The Working Group will be coordinated by the CBN Secretariat, with updates and outputs routinely being presented to the CBN Council for review, endorsement and implementation.

The Working Group’s Policy Statement and Roadmap, will be the guiding instrument for the CBN Council’s engagement with public sector stakeholders and leaders on the CBN’s work on the 5% Agenda.

The Working Group’s Policy Statement and Roadmap, will be the guiding instrument for the CBN Council’s engagement with public sector stakeholders and leaders on the CBN’s work on Digital Trade Infrastructure and eTrade in the AfCFTA.