Infrastructure special report
ON MY MIND: Fusion of capital and democracy
Pension funds have been slow to invest in infrastructure and need to come to the party
An interesting trend is emerging out of the broader theme of how to finance infrastructure development and construction on the African continent. It is a move from the sovereign to the local. The topic was discussed under the banner of "the democratisation of infrastructure capital" at a side meeting of the recent World Economic Forum Africa (WEF) held in Durban in May. The meeting, attended by various African and European development banks and other institutions, explored ways to speed up and increase infra-structure spend in order to unlock economic development in Africa, in some cases by "leapfrogging" on the back of technological innovations brought about by the so-called fourth industrial revolution. A need was identified for early-stage investment and development funding, such as for feasibility studies and impact assessments, in order to get projects from the concept stage to bankability. Development financing, with a higher risk profile than bankable projects and a typical f...
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