<div>The mood in Africa is changing for the better. This was palpable at the World Economic Forum summit on Africa at Cape Town. <br /><br />For years policy makers and business leaders have underlined the need for investing in infrastructure of African countries. This thought overshadowed the deceades old strategy of extracting from Africa but not giving back. The conversation has now moved to the next level. Nobody argues about the need for infrastructure. <br /><br />Debates are now about what to do and how to do it. The WEF on Africa saw intense discussions on identifying the nuts and bolts of building economic and social infrastructure.<br /><br />This was an enriching experience since many global corporations shared their experiences on what works and what doesn't in Africa. <br /><br />Experiences and experiments of launching projects is now helping policy makers revise their framework. New models of financing and structuring projects are being evaluated. <br /><br />For instance, the role of local funds and government support is now seen as a critical element of financing a project. <br /><br />So far, multilateral institutions would give grants or aid for projects. Many of these did not see light of day since local leaders were not agnostic to the success. The money lost in the project did not hurt leaders of the countries. <br /><br />The involvement of local funds and government finance means that regional communities have a stake in the success of the projects. So the success rate of projects is increasing. It also helps that the new political leadership in most African countries is focussing on development like never before. <br /><br />Some countries like South Africa and Nigeria have evolved to a new level of maturity. Instead of focussing on individual projects, they are launching development programmes that include scores of individual projects. <br /><br />South Africa has a National Infrastructure Plan that consists of 18 Strategic integrated projects which on their part include more than 150 individual projects. <br /><br />So the focus on one plan ensures that many projects are implemented. For governments, it is easier to track one programme and not many individual projects. <br /><br />Over $93 billion of investment is needed for infrastructure. Thankfully a lot of private funds are pouring in but there is a still a gap of about $34 billion. <br /><br />More money will come once new financing and implementation plans are formulated. <br /><br />Many new initiatives involve policy collaboration between global, private and government agencies. For instance African Development Bank along with WEF and African Union Commission have developed methodology for governments to engage private enterprise for infrastructure. <br /><br />Such efforts will enhance capability within government to prioritise and implement projects with higher efficiency and lower costs. <br /><br />Expect a speedy ramp up of infrastructure soon. <br /><br />(Pranjal Sharma is a senior business writer. He can be contacted at pranjalx@gmail.com)</div>
