Geopolitics of Urban Infrastructure Financing in Sub-Saharan Africa

Various national and international stakeholders have responded to this call: bilateral development agencies, investment funds, private companies and consultancy firms have fed into different urban infrastructure sectors by using multiple financing tools.

This context represents a fertile ground for competition: the approaches of the continent's countries' "traditional" partners are challenged by the growing interest of emerging actors (China, Turkey, the Gulf States, etc.) and also by an increasing recourse to national financing. This event aims to update the debate on infrastructure financing in a context of strong urban growth while shedding light on the geopolitical stakes.  

PROGRAM

Welcoming words: Alain Antil, director of the Sub-Saharan Africa Center, Ifri et Sina Schlimmer, coordinator of the program "Governing Africa's urban transitions" at the Sub-Saharan Africa Center, Ifri

Chair and moderation:  Paulius Kulikauskas, chief of the UN-Habitat Office for European Institutions

Speakers: 

• Samuel Goldstein, Africa development director, Meridiam

• Astrid Haas, urban economic analyst

• James Christopher Mizes, post-doctoral research fellow, University Paris Nanterre, Institut francilien Recherche, Innovation, Société

• Abou Ahmad Seck, member of the executive council of the Senegalese General Delegation of the Promotion of Urban Hubs