Johannesburg, November 2, 2012 – IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today held a seminar to increase the participation of Japanese and South African companies in public-private partnerships to help address Africa’s infrastructure needs.

Public-private partnerships are a mechanism to attract international expertise and mobilize private sector capital to address the huge infrastructure needs in Africa. Held in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), the seminar brought together representatives of Japanese and South African companies, government, JICA, DBSA, and IFC to discuss opportunities and challenges for private sector participation in infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Toshiyuki Nakamura, Chief Representative, JICA South Africa Office, said, “Public-private partnerships are becoming increasingly important to ensure Africa’s prosperity, and JICA is ready to support Japanese firms in investing in infrastructure on the continent. Our activities in this regard are an important part of Japan’s efforts on private sector participation in development, which will also be one of the main topics at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in June 2013.”

The seminar included presentations from a range of public and private sector officials and experts, including Toshiyuki Nakamura, Chief Representative, JICA South Africa Office; Sherine Panton-Ntshona, Division Executive, DBSA; Emmanuel Nyirinkindi, Manager, IFC Public Private Partnerships; Mosito Khethisa, Principal Secretary at the Lesotho Ministry of Finance; Amada Deen, Head of Infrastructure Programs, NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency (NPCA); and Kogan Pillay, Head of the SADC PPP Network.

Saleem Karimjee, IFC Country Manager for Southern Africa said, “Well-structured public-private partnerships in physical and social infrastructure are a priority for IFC because they can help African governments raise the large sums of capital required to meet infrastructure needs in energy, health, logistics, transportation, and water and sanitation.”

In fiscal year 2012, IFC funding for infrastructure and natural resources projects in Africa passed the $1 billion mark for the first time, including investments in Cameroon’s Kribi power plant, Kenya Airways, and the Simandou mine in Guinea. Twelve new public-private partnership mandates were signed to improve access to health services, tourism, renewable energy, telecommunications, and ports, providing a strong indicator of both the level and range of interest by governments to create more investment opportunities.

About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.