At a time when private Spanish companies are increasingly setting up operations in Africa, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has signed an agreement with ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones. The aim is to mobilise the Spanish private sector to invest in sustainable urban infrastructure in Africa.
The Urban and Municipal Development Fund (UMDF) will be receiving more investment from the Spanish private sector over the next few years. This is the aim of the partnership signed between the African Development Bank (AfDB) and ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones, a public commercial entity whose main objective is to promote the internationalisation of the Spanish economy and Spanish companies.
As part of this partnership, ICEX will mobilise Spanish expertise for African cities, including cross-participation in events and the sharing of data and knowledge. More importantly, the agreement establishes cooperation between the Spanish agency and the UMDF, a trust fund hosted by the AfDB to support the development of African cities. In addition, the memorandum agreed to facilitate the AfDB’s participation in the Smart Cities Expo World Congress, scheduled to take place in Barcelona in November 2023, in order to learn more about the objectives and technologies related to urban development, inclusiveness and sustainability.
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“Spain has a wealth of experience in innovation and technology for urban services, which we want to make available to African cities”, explains María Peña Mateos, ICEX’s Director General. These proven solutions include seawater desalination, an essential alternative in the cities of northern and southern Africa, which are facing water stress.
Among the Spanish companies investing in this specific service is Abengoa, one of Spain’s largest industrial groups, with revenues of more than €1.4 billion in 2019. As well as energy, the company is investing in seawater desalination in North Africa, notably in Agadir in Morocco. Its compatriot Tecnicas De Desalinizacion De Aguas (TEDAGUA) is active in the same sector, with contracts won in recent years in the town of Sfax in Tunisia and Doraleh in Djibouti.
Jean Marie Takouleu
