By Robert Currall, Jonathan Brufal

In the first visit by a UK Prime Minister to Africa since her predecessor David Cameron’s trip to Nigeria and South Africa in 2011 (although he did attend Nelson Mandela’s funeral in 2013), Theresa May announced an additional £4 billion in development spending from the UK government.

Approximately £3.5 billion of spending from the Department for International Development will be funded through CDC, the UK Government’s development finance arm (which invests in the private sector in Africa and South Asia), with a further £300 million from the Private Infrastructure Development Group, which focuses on providing essential infrastructure. The UK government will also seek to mobilise a further £4 billion in private sector investment.