Ghana to benefit from US infrastructure support

Ghana is among 50 African countries to benefit from infrastructure support under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US foreign assistance agency and Africa50, an infrastructure investment platform.

Mr Sean Cairncross, the Chief Executive Officer, MCC, speaking on a virtual platform on Tuesday said the Corporation and Africa50 had signed a partnership agreement to develop and launch the Millennium Impact for Infrastructure Accelerator (MIIA) to support projects in Africa.

The MIIA entity to be launched in Africa will be a global investment platform designed to spur and attract investments in Africa by developing bankable infrastructure deals with measurable social and economic impacts.

Investments through MIIA will cover projects across sectors such as water and sanitation, health, education, transportation, power, and telecommunications.

He said MCC and Africa50 had a strong institutional commitment to mobilising capital for impactful projects in Africa, stressing that the collaboration would unlock economic opportunities on the continent for sustainable development.

Mr Cairncross said Ghana was selected because it had demonstrated commitment to good governance and peaceful existence.

The CEO said impact investment in infrastructure was limited, due to the lack of bankable projects and the difficulty of measuring the impact of investment on the infrastructure.

He explained that the MIIA would address the pitfalls with features such as a certification process for the social and environmental impact of infrastructure projects, resources to prepare bankable projects with certified impact, and the framework to match the projects with impact investors who could provide capital.

“MCC will continue to focus on its mandate of promoting economic growth, reducing poverty and strengthening institutions for sustained development”, Mr Cairncross said.

Statistics show that annual global demand for infrastructure development is $3.7 trillion through 2035, with developing countries expected to account for roughly 2/3 of all infrastructure spending.

The African Development Bank also estimates funding needs of $130-$170 billion a year in Africa, with a gap of $68-$108 billion.