According to Nkosana Moyo, executive chairman at the Mandela Institute for Development Studies, development resources provided by organizations such as the International Monetary Fund should not be applied to activities that can be undertaken by private sector investment. Instead, resources should be applied at a governmental level on infrastructure and improvements that will “make an investor indifferent” when comparing investment opportunities between countries in a given region — a strategy that he considers especially important for investment in Africa.
In this video from the African Development Bank conference earlier this year, Moyo discusses his views with Godfrey Mutizwa of ABN and Uledi Mussa, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of East African Community:
Moyo has focused on African development for more than a decade and served as the Minister of Industry and International Trade for Zimbabwe. He has also worked at the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and at the Commonwealth Development Corporation in London. Much of his work has looked at ways for African countries to develop their economies, both internally and through trade with external partners.
In 2010, Moyo addressed an audience of Zimbabwean engineers and explained how their country was losing millions of dollars annually due to poor infrastructure. He cited the poor condition of the country’s roads as a factor resulting in money lost to vehicle repairs that could have been spent elsewhere in Zimbabwe’s economy.
In a presentation to an audience of Swaziland employers, Moyo stated that if the country wanted to recover from its financial difficulties, it could not expect success to come from “alien strategies.” According to coverage of the event from the Swazi Observer, Moyo stressed the country’s need to find its own solution to its problems, noting that “Swazis need to frame how they can sort out the financial challenges, then seek help from the IMF and not to expect them to do much of the job.”
At the Fifth Annual CFA Institute European Investment Conference in Prague, Moyo will discuss Investing in Africa in greater detail. Delegates will hear his thoughts on how partnerships between local entrepreneurs and foreign investors in Africa should be structured and learn his views on the most promising sectors and countries for investment opportunities. You can register to attend the conference and hear Moyo in person, and follow this blog for more speaker updates as the event draws closer.
