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New investment monitoring tool aims to boost business in Africa – UN agency

New investment monitoring tool aims to boost business in Africa – UN agency

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The United Nations and the African Union today launched a new tool, designed in partnership with the Microsoft Corporation, to help map investment flows on the continent and provide business leaders the information they need to make sound decisions.

The Internet-based Investment Monitoring Platform will “provide data and information on the characteristics of foreign and domestic investors, as well as their motivations, actions, perceptions, intentions, and impact,” according to a news release issued by the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

The Vienna-based agency launched the database along with the African Union Commission at a meeting in Addis Ababa that was attended by government ministers and representatives of banks, African investment promotion agencies, the private sector and industry experts.

UNIDO Director-General Kandeh K. Yumkella welcomed the initiative, noting it will bring a “new level of transparency” to the investment and business landscape in Africa.

“It will allow country ranking through investor evaluation and performance. It will also enable investors to conduct analysis and make more informed decisions, better assess business risks, and identify potential counterparts,” he said.

The information on the platform will be gathered through bi-annual surveys of both foreign and domestic investors conducted in more than 20 African countries by UNIDO, the first of which will start on 23 July in Kenya and Senegal.

It is hoped that 22 countries will be covered by the end of October this year.

“The information gathered will also allow for a better understanding of the impact of the global financial crisis on investment flows in Africa,” Mr. Yumkella said.

“It will help Government and national agencies design more effective investment and business policies, promotion strategies and services that respond to investor needs, and formulate viable industrialization strategies for the continent.”