Africa cash injection

DP World has announced the creation of an investment platform in partnership with  UK Government-owned development finance institution and impact investor, CDC Group (CDC), which offers expertise in infrastructure investment in Africa.

The platform will initially be seeded with minority stakes in existing DP World assets with significant capacity expansion plans, including Dakar (Senegal), Sokhna (Egypt) and Berbera (Somaliland).

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said: “We are excited to announce a partnership with CDC Group that will enable increased investment in ports and logistics infrastructure across Africa, driving efficiency and trade growth. The partnership will create transformational opportunities for tens of millions of people over the next decade.”

Long-term investment

The platform will invest in origin and destination ports, inland container depots, economic zones and other logistics across Africa to increase trade, create new job opportunities and broaden access to essential goods.

The platform covers a long-term investment period. As well as stakes in three existing ports initially, DP World expects to invest a further US$1bn through the platform over the next several years. CDC is committing approximately US$320m initially and expects to invest up to a further US$400m over the next several years.

Trade enabled by expansion of the three initial ports is expected to create an additional 138,000 employment opportunities in the wider economy. By 2035, the ports are expected to support stable employment for around 5m people indirectly.

Nick O’Donohoe, CEO at CDC, also noted the importance of the initiative: “Africa’s full potential is limited by inadequate ports and trade bottlenecks, putting the brakes on economic growth in some of the world’s fastest-growing economies and undermining social resilience in the least developed parts of the world.”