Newly trained African civil servants ready to drive investment in African infrastructure

"My experience as an AIFP fellow has been life-changing both professionally and personally. The mode of delivery was excellent. I had the rare opportunity to learn from industry leaders, to work with a global reputable firm, and to network with my peers." Winnierose Wanja Kosgei, Financial Analyst - Project Origination and Structuring, Public Private Partnerships Directorate, National Treasury, Kenya.

After seven weeks of intensive training on infrastructure project finance and delivery in Paris, France, the third cohort of the Africa Infrastructure Fellowship Program (AIFP) graduated last month.

Developed by the Global Infrastructure Hub (GI Hub) and Meridiam, the capacity-building program equips African civil servants to effectively lead infrastructure project procurement and financing.

The 2022 cohort was made up of 18 fellows, 55% women and 45% men. A total of 15 African countries, six of which were new to the program - Botswana, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, and Togo.

The GI Hub co-designed the program with the École des Ponts ParisTech (which was also the delivery partner of the AIFP). In addition to conducting several of the workshops, the GI Hub introduced multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, and infrastructure experts to share their insights and experiences with the fellows.

"The AIFP program has enlightened me about the pivotal role of the private sector in providing innovative solutions to infrastructure problems in Africa. I hope to integrate this knowledge and expertise to my career in development finance and transform the infrastructure landscape in Tanzania." Denis Dawson Deogratias, Senior Business Development Officer, TIB Development Bank, Tanzania.

Our Director of Infrastructure Knowledge and Leading Practices, Maud de Vautibault was on the ground throughout the program and led six workshops. Highlights included: 

• Infrastructure project pipeline workshop
  Maud shared the importance of infrastructure strategic planning and projects prioritisation through national pipelines.

• Funding and financing infrastructure workshop
  Maud provided an overview of solutions for structuring bankable projects and attracting private investment. She shared the GI Hub’s Funding and Financing Infrastructure resource and related case studies of proven mechanisms to fund and finance infrastructure.

• Improving delivery models workshop
  Maud presented the GI Hub’s Improving Delivery Models initiative which offers a database of globally proven solutions that empowers project teams to avoid and resolve common infrastructure delivery challenges. 
• PPP risk allocation workshop
  Maud shared the GI Hub’s PPP Risk Allocation Tool before the fellows participated in a negotiation simulation exercise on an African renewable project, facilitated by Trinity International.

This year we also facilitated two new workshops:

• Inclusive Infrastructure Procurement with Sunita Pitamber, Associate Director Gender Mainstreaming and Access to Services, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
• Africa Energy Outlook 2022 with Daniel Wetzel, Head of Tracking Sustainable Transitions Unit, International Energy Agency.

The GI Hub is pleased to be a key partner of this unique and enriching capacity-building program and wishes the 2022 fellows all the best for the future.