* Charges relevant institutions to utilise continent’s sovereign wealth funds with sound financial discipline

Deji Elumoye in Abuja 

President Bola Tinubu has called for collective action and regional cooperation among African countries in actualising transformative development on the continent.

Specifically, he said shrewd utilisation of sovereign wealth funds is crucial in ongoing efforts to close the infrastructure gap, build climate change resilience and create job opportunities for the growing youth population on the continent.

President Tinubu gave the charge on Monday in Abuja while declaring open the 4th Annual Meeting of the Africa Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF), hosted by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

The president, who was represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, noted that the forum’s meeting with the theme, ‘Leveraging African Sovereign Wealth Funds to Mobilise Global Capital for Transformative Development in Africa,’ was holding at a time the world is witnessing rapid transformation and is under pressure to think outside the box.

For Africa, President Tinubu said, it is time to position the continent to seize the opportunities rooted in the wave of global change.

He also charged African nations to take a cue from evolving sovereign wealth funds across the world, which have moved beyond serving as mere fiscal buffers to become architects of national transformation.

According to him, “Our future lies not in working in silos but in pursuing regional cooperation and collective ambition. Our sovereign wealth funds must become the anchors for pan-African investment platforms that de-risk projects, standardise processes, and deliver sustainable outcomes at scale. This is not just a strategy. This is a necessity.”

Emphasising that Africa is currently facing a development dilemma, as it contends with limited fiscal space amid growing expectations and demands for long-term capital to fuel inclusive and sustainable growth, the president, however, identified creativity as a solution to the puzzle.

He said: “There can be no greater inspiration to reimagine how we invest, whether in setting up critical infrastructure, strengthening our climate resilience, promoting food security through agricultural innovation, supporting micro, small and medium enterprises, or embracing the digital economy to create jobs and expand opportunity.

“None of these is possible without catalytic institutions that combine strategic foresight with sound financial discipline. This is why the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority stands not only as a steward of our sovereign capital but as a vehicle for the delivery of strategic infrastructure.

“It is a catalyst in our national quest to redeem renewable energy, healthcare, agriculture and much more. It is also a hub for pioneering innovative capital mobilisation solutions tailored to the realities of our continent.”

President Tinubu noted that ASIF has the pan-African apparatus to harness the collective strength of the continent’s sovereign investment institutions, just as he maintained that the time to act was now.

“We must act and act now to close the infrastructure gap, build resilience to climate change, and create jobs for our expanding youth population. This is precisely why platforms like the Africa Sovereign Investors Forum are not just relevant but essential.

“ASIF offers a pan-African mechanism to harness the collective strength of our sovereign investment institutions. It gives us the power to share knowledge, co-invest across borders, and speak with a unified voice in the global financial ecosystem. Through this kind of collaboration, we will attract the scale of capital required to unlock Africa’s latent potential,” he stated.

The president applauded the formal launch of the ASIF Investment Platform, saying it is a strategic initiative that deepens collaboration among Africa’s sovereign wealth funds.

According to him, the platform is not just an innovative tool but also a bold move that pools the continent’s capital, expertise and networks to mobilise financing for high-impact, cross-border projects, as well as “a step forward in advancing inclusive and sustainable development across the continent”.

He expressed delight that the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), as a founding member of ASIF, has taken an active role in advancing the vision, even as he commended its leadership for “mobilising like-minded African funds and international partners to design long-term, impactful investment solutions”.

Earlier, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, listed priorities for stakeholders at the forum to include capital mobilisation at scale, regional and intercontinental collaboration, human capital and policy alignment, noting that they are critical for transformative development across the continent.  

He expressed hope that the ASIF meeting would birth significant transactions that can mobilise the required resources, drive economic transformation across Africa, forge impactful partnerships and build a sustainable future.

Also speaking, the President of AfreximBank, Prof. Benedict Oramah, emphasised the need for stakeholders to keep African sovereign wealth funds on the continent by investing in domestic markets.

He noted that the forum can help reshape Africa’s development financing in a manner that gives the continent greater opportunity to determine its development trajectory.

The AfreximBank boss dismissed insinuations that Africa does not have bankable projects, noting that the potential across the region is huge and the challenge lies with stakeholders, especially managers of sovereign wealth funds in the continent, to rethink strategies for investment, prioritising domestic investments.

On his part, the Chairman of African Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF), Mr Obaid Amrane, said while Africa is open for business, the forum is committed to facilitating the participation of sovereign investors in Africa’s transformation.

He said in just three years, ASIF has made significant strides in enhancing Africa’s global positioning, closing the infrastructure funding gaps across the continent and promoting greater collaboration among governments and sovereign investors in transformative projects that impact lives across the length and breadth of the region.

In his remarks, the Managing Director, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Mr Aminu Umar-Sadiq, explained the focus of the meeting, noting that private capital plays a critical role in driving investments in infrastructure development on the continent.

He outlined the priority areas of the meeting and noted that the forum will catalyse investments across Africa and beyond, impacting lives through projects across diverse fields.

Also speaking, a Pan-African activist, Prof. PLO Lumumba, called on leaders across Africa to leverage huge resources domiciled on the continent to invest in the future of unborn generations by investing more within the continent, noting that sovereign funds should be invested within and not outside Africa.

He said it is an intergenerational duty for political and economic leaders on the continent to cater for generations yet unborn, adding that Africa’s resources are inexhaustible, hence leaders must invest in the future of generations to come.

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