Building local stakeholders: African content promotion initiative.

Africa's natural resources remain the greatest source of export revenues on the continent, and represent its most immediately available route to prosperity. However, while the extractive industries on the continent do generate taxes and foreign exchange earnings, their wider effects on the development of industry and job creation is limited. Key to ensuring that the extractive industries have a broader development impact is the evolution of local content, defined as the rent, interest, salaries and wages, profits and dividends retained in Africa. A number of governments have introduced policy measures prescribing the level of local participation that must be involved in the execution of any given project. However, many potential operators struggle to attract financing, having little equity to offer. Local banks are often ill-equipped to structure lending products to spark growth in the sector.

Afreximbank has begun a programme of providing funding for medium-sized service and advisory firms as they bid for service contracts, assisting them to meet their working capital requirements and acquire equipment.

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