Africa will need investments of at least $93 billion in power plants and roads in the next decade to sustain economic growth, according to the African Development Bank.

Nkosana Moyo, the chief operating officer at the African Development Bank.

'If any economic activity is going to take place, clearly our infrastructure deficit must be closed. We need a lot of money, and the bank can only supply a part of that,' says chief operating officer Nkosana Moyo.

Africa holds about 10% of the earth's oil reserves, 40% of its gold and 60% of cobalt reserves.

Shareholders of the African Development Bank last month approved the tripling of the capital base to almost $100bn to help fund projects such as railways and ports.

Moyo said lending to firms this year would probably be little changed as the bank waited for shareholders to start injecting capital.

The bank, one of five major multilateral development lenders in the world, invests more than half of its funds on infrastructure projects, mainly in energy and transport.

'Power is a big issue. Everything else in terms of economic development needs that foundation,' says Moyo.

After approving power investments in South Africa and Botswana last year, the bank is considering whether to back wind power projects in Kenya and Cape Verde, and the Inga 3 hydroelectric plant on the Congo river.

'There is a lot of pent-up demand for telecommunications in Africa. The penetration rate is still very low, and consumers are prepared to pay for the service. This should translate into good opportunities for investors,' says Moyo 

Source: Bloomberg