Africa50, AfDB, African Sovereign Investors Forum Partner On Infrastructure Projects In Africa

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Africa50, African Development Bank (AfDB) and the newly launched African Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF) have pledged to jointly mobilize capital for the implementation of infrastructure projects in Africa.

The three entities will work together to galvanize financing and to drive the development of skills and expertise within the infrastructure sector.
To strengthen their resolve, Africa50, AfDB and ASIF have signed a letter of intent to collaborate on developing green and climate resilient infrastructure projects across the continent.

The collaboration agreement will also seek to address the identification and preparation of projects, a critical successful factor in attracting financing into any projects. The newly formed platform will accelerate coordination to mobilize patient capital for Africa’s development.

The signing took place on 20 June in Rabat, Morocco, during an event to launch the Africa Sovereign Investors Forum. Under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco, 10 African sovereign investors agreed to set up the Forum..

The signatories are Agaciro Development Fund of Rwanda(link is external), Fonds Souverain de Djibouti, Fonds Gabonais d’Investissements Stratégiques (FGIS), Fonds Souverain d’Investissements Stratégiques (FONSIS) of Senegal, Fundo Soberano de Angola (FSDEA), Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund(link is external) (GIIF), Ithmar Capital (Morocco), Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE).

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Africa50, Alain Ebobissé signed for his organization. AfDB’s Vice-President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization, Solomon Quaynor, signed on behalf of the Bank, and the CEO of Ithmar Capital, Obaid Amrane, who will serve as the inaugural chair of ASIF, signed on the new initiative’s behalf.

Africa50 is an infrastructure investment platform that contributes to Africa’s growth by developing and investing in bankable projects, catalyzing public sector capital, and mobilizing private sector funding, with differentiated financial returns and impact. It currently has 31 shareholders, comprised of 28 African countries, the AfDB, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), and Bank Al-Maghrib.

Africa50 chief said the move is an important step to building strong collaboration between the right stakeholders to meet the substantial infrastructure financing needs of Africa.

We must make key regional infrastructure projects attractive and bankable for both global and African private investors and today’s signing will go a long way to address the continent’s infrastructure deficit.

“It is therefore important that we leverage the strength of the African sovereign wealth funds on the continent, who manage significant domestic savings, to drive the growth of Africa’s economies through the development and successful implementation of strategic infrastructure”, he added.

Similarly, Quaynor said the AfDB’s partnership with ASIF and Africa50 would enable stronger collaborations on project development and co-financing, mobilization of capital to fund resilient, green and sustainable infrastructure and identification of investment opportunities to promote Africa’s infrastructure and industrialization.

“This is a key part of the Bank’s strategy to harness the estimated $2 trillion of assets under management from African institutional investors including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and insurance companies for the continent’s infrastructure and industrialization”, he further explained.

Amrane said ASIF main objective is to accelerate the development of investment opportunities and to mobilize patient capital, adding that as sovereign investors, they see strong complementarities with AfDB and Africa50, especially that their respective visions are aligned with regard to project preparation and capital mobilization.

“We are pleased today to formalize ASIF, AfDB and Africa50’s mutual desire to collaborate together, for we have a common objective to foster investment in climate resilient projects, among others, according to our respective mandate”, he stressed.