Africa has traditionally depended on official development assistance to meet its infrastructure needs. But a growing share of the region's infrastructure finance is now coming from nontraditional sources. Leading this trend is non-Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)...

In 2006, which China named the "Year of Africa," it quadrupled its investment commitments to infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa, to more than $7 billion. In 2007 China committed another $4.5 billion. Such funds could make a significant contribution toward meeting Africa's infrastructure...