Renaissance Capital,emerging markets investment bank, held its second Annual Pan-Africa Investor Conference in Lagos weekend. The conference which brought together over 200 institutional investors, corporate executives and senior government officials for three days, was opened with a keynote address by Renaissance Capital CEO, Stephen Jennings, joined by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and representatives of Finance Minister Olusegun Aganga and Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi.

The conference focused on introducing local African and international investors to listed and pre-IPO companies across the continent. Over 800 one-to-one meetings took place between African companies seeking capital and prospective investors.

In his keynote address, Stephen Jennings said: “I think it is probable that in the coming decades large parts of Africa will outpace the growth enjoyed by Asia. In the 1950s and 60s, it was Asia that was considered the over-populated, politically incompetent, war-riven basket case. It’s hard to imagine now, but in 1970, per capita GDP in China was less than that of Africa.

The catch-up between Africa and Asia can spur economic growth which can be just as transformative for Africa as it has been for Asia. Already, the IMF expects Liberia, Ghana, Ethiopia, Botswana, Mauritania, Angola, Tanzania, the DRC, Uganda, Niger, Libya, and Mozambique to be amongst the 25 fastest growing economies in the world over the next five years.”

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo formally opened the conference and said: “After many years of economic immobilism, the continent’s economies experienced a marked acceleration in growth during the past ten years, with real GDP increasing by 5.2 per cent annually, compared with 2.3 per cent in the 1990s.”