Exclusive interview with Gori Olusina Daniel, Senior Infrastructure Finance Specialist and Managing Partner at Africa PPP Advisory Services (AP3). Gori is an advisory board member of the upcoming Africa’s Green Economy Summit in Cape Town in Feb 2024.
Let’s start with some background on you, and please tell us more about AP3.
I am Gori Olusina Daniel, managing partner at AP3 Advisory. We’re a specialist infrastructure finance consultancy, working on a range of projects, and particularly with regards to Africa’s Green Economy Summit, projects that have an African origin or working with partners working on catalytic infrastructure projects across the African continent.
Can you share some of your success stories. How have these changed people’s lives or contributed to mitigating climate change?
A lot of my background really has been working on projects that seemed very, very challenging and impossible before they were realised. So, whether these are mega rail or road projects, all of which have some sort of bent towards shifting travel behaviour to more climate efficient projects, but also on technology projects, such as the Oyster Card in London, which again has been instrumental in promoting the use of public transport, which is also linked to reducing the travel congestion through passenger cars in such an important city. A lot of the sort of thinking has been around how we structured PFIs, public finance infrastructure projects, in London, we’ve used in a range of projects across the continent; again, to support the idea of how to actually structure projects that make a real difference, and projects that can actually be delivered in such a way that they reduce the carbon footprint and deliver important and valuable infrastructure for citizens.
You have followed COP28 quite closely. What are your main takeaways this year?
We’re just on the heels of COP28 and there’s a lot of that in the news at the moment in terms of some of the key things that came out of COP28. I think first and foremost it is this idea of a transition away from fossil fuels. My reflections on this is what this does is really just accurately captures where the industry is now. I think there’s a recognition that the science is clear; the idea is to transition to more renewable, lower carbon energy. And this is something that, across the African continent, I think there’s an alignment as to the need to explore greener, net zero carbon pathways in terms of delivery. And I think that’s a positive.
Another thing for the African continent was the idea of the funding of the Loss and Damage Fund which was first announced in COP27. So that’s been operationalised. About $85 billion worth of commitments and a significant part of that for adaptation projects is also one of the key things that came out of COP28.
So, a lot of really positive things that came out of it. However, as always, the devil is in the detail. And the key thing now is for governments, private sector investors and development finance partners to actually start doing the hard work of ensuring that these commitments come to life and lower and middle income countries are able to access this funding for critical investments in infrastructure.
Anything in particular about decisions and announcements at the conference that will impact Africa?
I think there’s a recognition that climate change is a reality across the African continent and that no one can be more committed to addressing the impacts of climate change than governments across the region. And there’s a need for the global commitments for capital flows of a hundred million dollars a year to be actualised and a real sense that, perhaps projects across the continent need to be supported, to be positioned for finance, because the finance is available or it’s committed. The question is building the capacity of the project sponsors to be able to access that, ensuring that the pipeline of projects that exist across the region are developed and structured in such a way that they’re able to access the finance that’s available. And that’s part of what makes Africa’s Green Economy Summit, which we might come to in a moment, very, very important because it’s an opportunity to move away from just talking about what needs to be done to actually getting product sponsors, climate finance providers and finance providers in general into the room and working through how to ensure that the projects that have been developed can access the funding that they need to be able to move through the development stages into implementation.
The controversial “no science” comment by the COP28 president. Does this reflect the reality of a lot of big global business boardrooms in your view?
Yes, it was a controversial statement, but I think that there are a couple of things to consider to put this in context. I think it shouldn’t be lost on us that UAE as an oil-producing country hosted COP 28 and that is significant in and of itself. What is also significant is that for the first time in 30 years, the agreements coming out of the Conference of Parties had wording to signify a clear transition away from fossil fuels. And I think what makes that credible is essentially where it was hosted and the fact that it was announced by the chief executive of the state oil company.
Now, going to the actual comment itself, I think that a lot has been said about this, no least by the chair himself, who came and tried to manage the messaging of the “no science.” He’s an engineer. He’s someone that I think he recognises that climate change is a reality. But he also needs to balance that, I believe, with the needs of his country, other oil producing states who are clamouring for what they consider to be a just and equitable transition. So I think in balancing it, I think it’s also not lost on me that he was invited to talk about the broader development factors rather than confront what seemed to be an attack on whether or not being an oil producing country, the UAE was well positioned to host this sort of event. And I think that the outcome of COP28 is really where the focus should lie on.
Whether things were said or how they were said may well be an indication of the fact that there’s a journey that everybody’s having to go through to come to the reality that irrespective of personal, private positions, interests, what is right for our shared prosperity as one humanity is for this transitioning away from possible fuels in a way that is aligned with the available technologies that allow the transition to be just and equitable. And this also has to do with the cost and the access to these technologies that low and middle income countries need to be able to ensure that their industrialisation and development are not compromised of this very, very important transition that the world seems to have started on with no return.
I think for me, the key thing is the bigger picture of the fact that we’re on a path of no return. There is a transition away from fossil fuels, and it has been achieved under the presidency of the UAE. But whether big global businesses are thinking about the same thing, I think it’s not a unique position. I think everyone is on a journey, some faster than others. But I think the key important thing here is, we are on a path of no return. And that’s a positive thing, and I think that’s worth celebrating.
Anything else at COP28 that was surprising in a good way or perhaps disappointed you?
I’ve been following COPs over the last two to three years, talking about journeys, this is something that I’ve paid increasing attention to over the last three years. And what I always look out for is a sense of what the direction of travel is and with regards to the projects that we’re supporting, whether or not commitments have been made at COP that help the projects that we are working on raising finance for or supporting. And that’s what COP28 did. It did in terms of the funding of the Loss and Damage Fund. It did with regards to over $85 billion being committed in climate finance. And now, I think everyone’s efforts really should be about translating those commitments into finance for projects that need to be developed to support the growth and sustainable development agenda of countries across the region.
What keeps you excited about the African continent and working on green infrastructure deals?
I was born in Africa, and Africa, as you say, always remains part of you. And it’s always struck me why Africa being blessed with the resources that it has, hasn’t been able to actualise its potential. And over the last couple of years, even with the pandemic, even with the challenges that Africa is now emerging from, particularly with the energy transition and the fact that Africa remains hugely positioned to be a driver of that global energy transition, it just highlighted the fact that with the right sort of partnerships, technology, security, trade and investment, Africa has the potential to use this transition to fully realise its potential.And it’s exciting to be working with partners across the investment spectrum to help realise that and that’s a really exciting place to be at this point in time.
What are the main obstacles in your view?
I think the main obstacles are the ones that we talk about at Africa’s Green Economy Summit. It’s really matching finance with projects, and there’s quite a lot that is between that. We need to look at the institutional landscape in a number of countries that allow the private sector to thrive, that allows the security of contracts, that allows the dispute resolution, that allows for projects to be protected from political change and inconsistency. There is the hard work of looking at projects from a very strategic point of view. So you’re not just looking at projects that start and end within an existing political cycle, but you’re looking at projects that align to national development plans, for instance, so support in terms of project preparation, identifying projects, structuring projects for finance. And I think, I must mention on the supply side, DFIs and finance institutions, taking a more long-term view of projects across the continent.
Take, for instance, I was involved in a conversation this week about how catalytic railway infrastructure is across the region. But matching funding available, which is normally with 10 years of 10 to 20 years, to projects where break-even is more in the 40, 50 years, is where part of the challenge lies. So there needs to be more patient capital that recognises that the real transformation in the continent comes when, particularly DFIs but also the governments and the private sector work together, to bet on what it would take to actually transform every productive sector across the region.
What are the current investment opportunities in this sector that you are particularly excited about?
I think every sector you look at as having exciting opportunities. The transport sector, pick a country, whether it is road, rail or air, whether it is end-of-mile transportation that’s required, technologies in the energy space that allows for a leapfrogging of existing, high carbon-intensive alternatives, whether it is, manufacturing and ensuring that the power generated to power industry is also available in rural communities everywhere you go. There are investment opportunities that are worth looking at. And that brings me to one of the key things that I’m always looking for in projects. You’ve got to look at projects within the system in which it operates and the benefits accruing beyond the actual project to seeing how lives and livelihoods of the communities which those projects serve can be impacted. And this also has a way of leading to refinements in the business models that are that are implemented to support these projects, but also in the development impact that it has in terms of opportunities that it creates: jobs and training of people within the community, particularly women and children.
You are an advisory board member of the upcoming Africa’s Green Economy Summit in Cape Town. How important is such an event for the continent in your view?
Africa’s Green Economy Summit couldn’t have come at a better time. It’s come at a time where there have been significant announcements and commitments from the global north around commitments to infrastructure projects across the region. It’s being held in Cape Town, which I believe has been touted as the Silicon Valley of Africa and really a meeting place where conversations can be had about how to turn promises made at COP28 into the flow of finance that was anticipated and is required to actually cause a number of this high potential projects to materialise.
I’m certainly looking forward to it, and I’m really enjoying the conversations that we’re having with a range of DFI partners around partnering with the programme on this. I’m enjoying and excited about the projects across multiple sectors that we’re seeing, such as agro, transport, energy and water. I’m really looking forward to conversations that translate to real and important investment in the sector.
Anything you would like to add?
In terms of perhaps my last words on this, Africa’s Green Economy Summit that is happening from 21–23 February 2024, I think will be a real test of the commitments of COP28. It’s an opportunity that project sponsors are really looking for, and the DFIs that we’re talking to are. I certainly am looking forward to being there and being part of that exercise that takes us from a conversation held far away in the Middle East to one that is held on African soil, striking deals that make a difference to African lives.
Contact Us
VUKA is the trusted media partner to key professionals, policy makers, suppliers and
manufacturers. We provide unparalleled opportunities for industry-wide connection.
