PPP and Infrastructure Project Finance Training for Southern African Officials in Johannesburg

Programme Overview

This programme gives officials and project teams the practical methods of ppp and infrastructure project finance, built around real cases from public institutions and donor-financed projects.

Infrastructure and urban services shape growth, health and opportunity. Projects are large, complex and long-lived, and weaknesses in planning, financing or delivery are costly to fix later.

It is designed for participants from Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana and colleagues from other countries facing the same challenges.

Delivered by Risalat Consultants International in Johannesburg, South Africa, it combines expert-led sessions, real cases and group work, so that participants can apply what they learn in their own institution.

The Programme Strengthens Institutional Capability

• Infrastructure needs and service goals
• Long-term planning and prioritisation
• Roles of national and local government
• Lessons from completed projects
• Case discussion: a project that changed a city
• Options analysis
• Costs, benefits and risks
• Business case structure
• Budget preparation and execution
• Financial reporting and accounting standards
• Cash and treasury management
• Internal control over payments and assets

It is designed for infrastructure and urban planners, engineers and technical managers, project and programme managers and others who want practical, current skills in public financial management and finance.

The Growing Importance of PPP and Infrastructure Project Finance

Sound financial management is the basis for credible budgets, timely payments and clean audits. Governments and financiers expect accurate reporting, disciplined budget execution and transparent use of funds.

Changes in reporting standards, digital payment systems and financier requirements mean finance teams must keep their skills current. Strong financial management also frees time and money for the services that matter.

Organisations increasingly require professionals capable of:

• Prepare and execute budgets in line with plans
• Produce accurate, timely financial reports
• Apply controls over payments and assets
• Meet financier financial management requirements
• Use financial information to support decisions

Strong public financial management and finance systems help organisations:

• Improve budget credibility and execution
• Produce reliable reports and clean audits
• Reduce payment delays and errors
• Build trust with financiers and oversight bodies

This PPP and Infrastructure Project Finance programme brings these elements together in a practical format, so that participants understand not only what good practice looks like but also how to introduce it in their own setting, with the people and resources they have.

Who Should Attend This PPP and Infrastructure Project Finance Training?

This programme is designed for:

• Infrastructure and urban planners
• Engineers and technical managers
• Project and programme managers
• PPP unit staff
• Municipal and local government officials
• Transport and utility managers
• Finance and investment officers
• Procurement and contract managers
• Construction supervision consultants
• Policy and regulatory staff
• Finance managers and accountants
• Budget officers and analysts

The programme suits experienced professionals as well as those moving into new responsibilities. Groups that mix institutions and countries are encouraged, because participants learn a great deal from each other’s experience.

PPP and Infrastructure Project Finance Training Objectives

Upon successful completion of this PPP and Infrastructure Project Finance Training, participants will be able to:

• Explain how infrastructure is planned and prioritised
• Appraise projects and prepare a business case
• Compare financing and delivery models, including partnerships
• Plan procurement and contracts for works
• Supervise construction for time, cost and quality
• Plan asset management and maintenance
• Build sustainability and resilience into projects
• Explain the budget cycle and the role of each actor
• Prepare and monitor budgets linked to plans
• Apply the main principles of the relevant reporting standards

Each objective is practised during the programme through exercises, cases or group work, so that participants leave able to do it, not only to describe it.

Programme Contents and Structure

The programme runs over 5 days. Each day combines expert input, practical work and a closing workshop or case study:

• First Day: Planning and prioritisation
• Second Day: Appraisal and business cases
• Third Day: Financing and partnerships
• Fourth Day: Delivery and supervision
• Fifth Day: Assets, resilience and action planning

Full day-by-day contents

First Day | Planning and prioritisation

• Infrastructure needs and service goals
• Long-term planning and prioritisation
• Roles of national and local government
• Lessons from completed projects
• Case discussion: a project that changed a city

Workshop: Planning and prioritisation: Applying It to Your Institution

Working in small groups, participants apply the day's methods to examples from their own institutions and agree practical next steps.

Second Day | Appraisal and business cases

• Options analysis
• Costs, benefits and risks
• Business case structure
• Social and environmental considerations
• Exercise: options appraisal for a project

Workshop: Appraisal and business cases: Applying It to Your Institution

Working in small groups, participants apply the day's methods to examples from their own institutions and agree practical next steps.

Third Day | Financing and partnerships

• Public funding and financier loans
• Public-private partnership models
• Risk allocation and payment mechanisms
• Fiscal commitments and transparency
• Exercise: risk allocation matrix

Case Study: Financing and partnerships in Practice

Participants analyse a realistic case, compare the choices made with good practice and draw lessons they can use in their own setting.

Fourth Day | Delivery and supervision

• Procurement and contracts for works
• Construction supervision and quality
• Managing time, cost and changes
• Health, safety and community impacts
• Case study: recovering a delayed project

Workshop: Delivery and supervision: Applying It to Your Institution

Working in small groups, participants apply the day's methods to examples from their own institutions and agree practical next steps.

Fifth Day | Assets, resilience and action planning

• Asset management and maintenance
• Resilience to climate and other risks
• Performance monitoring of services
• Engaging users and communities
• Personal action plan for your portfolio

Capstone Exercise: PPP and Infrastructure Project Finance Action Plan for Your Institution

Participants bring the week together in an action plan for their own institution, with priorities, owners and first steps, and present it for feedback from peers and facilitators.

PPP and Infrastructure Project Finance Training Methodology

The programme is practical and participatory. Expert facilitators introduce concepts and current practice, and participants apply them straight away through discussion, exercises and work on real cases.

The programme combines:

• Expert-led sessions on current practice
• Regional and international case studies
• Group work and practical exercises
• Simulations and role plays where relevant
• Discussion of participants' own challenges
• Peer learning across institutions and countries
• Practical tools and templates to take back to work
• Daily reflection and action planning

Before the programme, a short pre-assessment helps the facilitators understand each participant’s role and priorities, so that examples and exercises can be adjusted to the group. Each day ends with a short reflection in which participants note what they will apply at work.

Expected Outcomes

Upon completion of this PPP and Infrastructure Project Finance Training, participants will be able to:

• Plan and prioritise infrastructure investments
• Appraise projects and prepare business cases
• Choose financing and delivery models
• Supervise works for time, cost and quality
• Plan asset management and maintenance
• Build resilience into projects
• Prepare and monitor budgets linked to plans
• Produce accurate financial reports

Participants leave with a personal action plan and practical tools they can use in their institution from the first week back. Institutions that send several participants can use the programme to agree shared methods and templates across teams, which makes improvements easier to sustain.

Institutional Application of PPP and Infrastructure Project Finance Training

This programme supports organisations in strengthening:

• Budget preparation and execution
• Financial reporting
• Payment and cash controls
• Donor financial management
• Audit readiness

Participants return with practical tools to improve:

• Budget monitoring
• Interim financial reports
• Reconciliations
• Asset management
• Audit follow-up

The programme is built so that learning moves from the classroom into the institution. Participants work on their own processes and documents where possible, and leave with an action plan that their managers can review and support.

Regional Relevance & Application

Europe

European institutions apply public financial management and finance within detailed regulatory frameworks and reform agendas. Participants from Europe can compare their practice with colleagues from other regions and test how established methods work under different conditions.

Africa

Across Africa, ministries, agencies and project teams working in public financial management and finance increasingly operate alongside donor-financed programmes that expect clear systems and evidence. The programme helps participants adapt good practice to the institutions and resources they work with.

Middle East

In the Middle East, national development strategies and diversification plans place growing demands on public financial management and finance. Participants explore how to build the capability these plans need inside public bodies and companies.

Asia

Institutions across Asia combine rapid growth with ambitious modernisation programmes. Participants from Asia can share their experience of scaling systems quickly and learn from approaches used elsewhere.

Pacific

Small island and Pacific states face particular constraints of size, distance and capacity. The programme highlights practical, proportionate approaches to public financial management and finance that suit smaller institutions.

Holding the programme in Johannesburg, South Africa brings participants together away from their daily pressures, so they can compare how public financial management and finance is handled in different settings. The same programme can also be delivered in-house for one institution, in its own country or online, with cases taken from its current work.

Host Country Profile – South Africa

Risalat Consultants International runs open-enrolment training programmes in Johannesburg, South Africa for officials, project teams and professionals from across the region. Dates, fees and what each programme covers are listed above, and any programme can also be delivered in-house for your institution.

Studying away from their own country gives participants time to focus, a fresh view of their own institution and the chance to build a network with colleagues from other countries.

PPP and Infrastructure Project Finance Training Deliverables

Participants receive support before, during and after the programme, so that preparation, learning and follow-up form one continuous experience.

Before the Programme

• Participant Pre-Assessment
• PPP and Infrastructure Project Finance Readiness Assessment
• PPP and Infrastructure Project Finance Resource Pack
• Preparatory Reading Materials
• Complimentary Visa Support & Advisory

During the Programme

• Airport Pickup & Welcome Assistance
• Accommodation with Breakfast
• Welcome Networking Dinner
• Risalat Training Kit (Bag, Bottle, Mug, T-Shirt, Cap, Passport Cover, Pens, Notebook, Magnet & Keychain)
• Comprehensive PPP and Infrastructure Project Finance Training Manual
• Budget Monitoring Template
• Interim Financial Report Template
• Reconciliation Checklist
• Audit Preparation Checklist
• Practical Workshops & Simulations
• Group Discussions & Peer Learning
• Daily Lunch and Refreshments
• Full Access to Training Venue Facilities
• Mini Pad / Tablet with Digital Learning Materials
• Field Visit (where applicable)
• Entertaining City Tour

After the Programme

• Certificate of Completion
• Risalat Programme Participation Recognition Award
• Post-Training Reference Materials
• Financial Management Self-Assessment
• Payment Control Checklist
• Post-Training Support & Follow-Up Guidance
• Programme Report

Institutions can also request a tailored in-house version of this programme, delivered at their premises or online. Request a proposal.

Common Challenges in PPP and Infrastructure Project Finance, And How This Training Helps

How can institutions prepare and execute budgets in line with plans?

The programme addresses this directly on the first day (Planning and prioritisation), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions produce accurate, timely financial reports?

The programme addresses this directly on the second day (Appraisal and business cases), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions apply controls over payments and assets?

The programme addresses this directly on the third day (Financing and partnerships), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions meet financier financial management requirements?

The programme addresses this directly on the fourth day (Delivery and supervision), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions use financial information to support decisions?

The programme addresses this directly on the fifth day (Assets, resilience and action planning), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where does the PPP and Infrastructure Project Finance programme take place?

It runs from 8 Mar 2027 to 12 Mar 2027, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The registration deadline is shown at the top of this page.

Who should attend?

The programme is designed for infrastructure and urban planners, engineers and technical managers, project and programme managers, PPP unit staff, and others who want practical skills in public financial management and finance.

Will I receive a certificate?

Yes. Participants who complete the programme receive a Certificate of Completion from Risalat Consultants International.

Can this programme be delivered for our institution only?

Yes. We can deliver a tailored in-house version at your premises, in another city or online, built around your own cases. Use the proposal request on this page.

Do I need prior experience in public financial management and finance?

No specialist background is required beyond experience in a related role. A short pre-assessment helps the facilitators adapt the sessions to the group.

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