Public-private partnerships, a development issue
The Africa Multi-Country Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Facility aims to promote a method of financing whereby public authorities partner with private service providers to finance and manage infrastructure that contributes to the public service.
The widespread deterioration in macroeconomic conditions, in particular in Africa, exacerbated by the Covid-19 health crisis, has severely strained the financing capacity of countries. In this context, PPPs are a relevant solution for reviving infrastructure projects, while limiting public debt through the mobilisation of private financing and the technical expertise of private companies.
However, there are still several sectoral challenges: the understanding of the legal instruments and PPP approaches is inadequate, the institutional frameworks are often inappropriate, the existing PPP units lack resources and expertise, and the local contracting authorities have limited resources and expertise.
It is therefore essential to increase resources and reinvent the support to PPP operators, by focusing on assistance in planning, including the identification, selection and prioritisation of PPP projects, as well as training for the main stakeholders with innovative teaching methods, adapted to international standards and local situations.
Africa Multi-Country PPP Facility: an innovative partnership to strengthen contracting authorities
To address these issues, it is proposed to create a specific facility, financed with a grant. This initiative fits in with AFD Group’s range of services (AFD, AFD Campus, Expertise France) and aims to deploy a technical assistance mechanism, offering assistance and an ambitious and innovative training program.
In the context of public procurement, AFD has entrusted Expertise France with the implementation of activities to assist in the planning and preparation of projects, in accordance with the AFD-Expertise France framework agreement. The project aims to contribute to the creation of a pipeline of bankable, long-term and sustainable projects.
Assisting PPPs in requesting countries
The project is implemented in requesting countries, mainly in Africa. PPP units, sectoral ministries, local authorities, implementing agencies, and public enterprises will be able to benefit.
Its overall objective is to make a more agile contribution to bridging the infrastructure gap and offsetting the lack of bankable PPP projects.
To this end, it comprises three lines of action: support for the creation of pipelines of bankable PPP projects, support for the development of standardised tools, and capitalisation.
