Attracting Private Investment to Build Infrastructure in Africa May Sound Like a Great Idea, but It’s Really Difficult in Practice

With the launch of the G7’s new “Build Back Better World” initiative (B3W) that aims to distinguish itself from China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by channeling private sector capital to build infrastructure in developing countries, three senior leaders in the International Monetary Fund’s Africa department argued in a blog post on Monday that such funding will be difficult to achieve.

“The volume of infrastructure projects with private sector participation has significantly declined in the past decade, following the commodity price bust,” the trio said. “And when investment does go to Africa, it is predominantly to natural resources and extractive industries, not health, roads, or water.”

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by Eric Olander

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