By Our Reporter
The 9th African Development Forum (ADF) will be held in Marrakech, Morocco, from 12th to 16th October 2014 under the theme ‘Innovative financing for Africa’s transformation’. The Forum which is the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s (ECA) flagship event will for the first time ever be held outside Addis Ababa where the ECA is headquartered. This year’s theme has special focus on accelerating the capital deployed in Africa by deepening capital markets, putting domestic capital to use, looking at new sources of investment such as private equity and also reversing and ending the financial flows through clearer and more structured tax regimes.
The Forum is known to bring together African and international experts to discuss and thrash out some of the most pressing issues relating to Africa. There is expected to be a strong private sector participation which will provide a unique platform for business and political leaders to come up with some concrete solutions to some critical issues. Specific topics to be discussed this year include Domestic resource mobilization, illicit financial flows, Private equity, new forms of partnerships as well as Issues in climate financing.
According to ECA’s Executive Secretary Carlos Lopez, Morocco is a key center for business development in Africa. The country’s private sector has been expanding its operation throughout the sub-region. It has a stable political environment, favorable geographic position, an operational legal framework, and sufficiently developed infrastructure services.
“The Forum seeks to enhance Africa’s capacity to explore innovative financing mechanisms as real alternatives for financing transformative development in the continent. The theme – Innovative financing for Africa’s transformation – stems from the recognition of the role of finance in attaining the structural transformation agenda premised on African-owned and African-driven developmental initiatives,