The African Development Bank (AfDB) has called for partnerships to unlock the potential of Africa’s sovereign wealth and strategic investment funds, pensions, and life insurance assets, estimated at $2.3 trillion.

The bank noted that such partnerships presented avenues to attract more global private and institutional investors’ funds into the continent.

Mr Solomon Quaynor, AfDB’s Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure, and Industrialisation, made the call at the just-ended Second Annual Meeting of the Africa Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF) in Kigali, Rwanda.

The meeting was on the theme: “Strategic Partnerships: Driving Africa’s Resilience and Sustainable Development.”

Mr Quaynor, who is also an Investment Banker said the AfDB would work with ASIF members to develop and finance transformative strategic projects to accelerate sustainable development across the continent.

He pledged the Bank’s support to the establishment and operations of the ASIF Secretariat, adding that AfDB would mobilise the required funds to cement its role as a key catalyst for economic growth and prosperity in Africa.

Mr Obaïd Amrane, ASIF Chairperson said that it was “time for Africa to be considered as an investment destination, and not only an aid for development one.”

“It is nowadays more than possible to deploy capital on the continent on international standards. It is our role as sovereign funds and Africans to set the example and act to transform these opportunities into projects and investments,” he added.

Mr Edouard Ngirente, Rwandan Prime Minister insisted that African sovereign wealth funds were used to develop African economies efficiently through equitable diversification and generation of wealth for future generations.

“To achieve this, we must ensure that these funds are well-managed,” he said.

Mr Eric Rwigamba Rwigamba, the Minister of Public Investments and Privatisation of Rwanda acknowledged the value of creating a platform to promote dialogue and unite key stakeholders and global experts.

He said that the outcomes of such dialogues would “contribute to shaping our strategic focus on our shared vision of Africa and its development aspirations in an increasingly competitive global economic environment.”

The second ASIF meeting offered a platform for dialogue and collaboration among African sovereign wealth funds, strategic investment funds, pension funds, life insurance companies, asset managers, governments, regulators, and investment professionals.

The forum bolstered strategic partnerships to facilitate the pooling of financial and technical resources to drive investment in sectors critical to Africa’s development such as climate-resilient energy, infrastructure, healthcare, technology, and agriculture.

Two sovereign wealth funds, Ethiopia Investment Holdings and Mauritius Investment Corporation, have joined ASIF, further expanding the forum’s membership.

ASIF was launched in the Moroccan capital Rabat in June 2022 by a group of ten African sovereign wealth funds, with the aim of facilitating the mobilisation of long-term capital to develop Africa.

The members include the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), Agaciro Development Fund (Rwanda), Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and Sovereign Fund of Egypt.

The rest are, the Fonds Souverain de Djibouti, Fonds Gabonais d’Investissements Stratégiques, and Fonds Souverain d’Investissements Stratégiques (Senegal), Fundo Soberano de Angola, and Ithmar Capital (Morocco).