The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), has been commended for allocating around 40% of its investments to domestic projects.
President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah, gave the commendation while speaking at the 4th Annual Meeting of the Africa Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF), held on Monday in Abuja, Nigeria.
The meeting with the theme, “Leveraging African Sovereign Wealth Funds to Mobilise Global Capital for Transformative Development in Africa,” assembled thought leaders, policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs and development partners from across the continent of Africa and the globe.
Speaking, Prof. Oramah said the impact of these investments, especially in health, critical infrastructure and others are visible, therefore, urged peer sovereign wealth funds to follow suit.
“Some years ago, Afreximbank approached an African Sovereign Wealth Fund to co-finance a critical power project in their own country. Despite years of engagement, the Sovereign Wealth Fund declined. Undeterred, and recognizing the immense development impact, Afreximbank financed the project alone.
“We are immensely proud of this project, for it has unlocked industrial and commercial potential, driving economic growth by revitalizing industries, creating jobs, and boosting exports, all while profoundly improving quality of life through reliable electricity.
“This is a testament to what is possible when we believe in our own potential,” the Afreximbank boss said.
He noted that African Sovereign Wealth Funds collectively manage over 100 billion US dollars in assets, which grows from year to year.
He also said that the continent’s pension funds hold a staggering 600 billion US dollars across key markets especially Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya.
With these funds, he said Africa possesses significant capital to finance its development and trade.
However, he said “the real problem is that most of these funds, including about 400 billion US dollars in foreign exchange reserves held by African central banks, are stashed outside of Africa based on neo-colonial ideas embedded in our minds, and which filtered into the policies of these institutions, that our assets are safer with others than with ourselves.”
He submitted that the true challenge is not in amassing capital, but in deploying it with purpose, ingenuity,
a questioning mind, and an unwavering commitment to the continent’s transformation.
According to him, African Sovereign Wealth Funds must evolve beyond mere custodians of surplus to become dynamic catalysts of structural transformation, actively mobilizing, de-risking, and syndicating capital for industrialization, wealth creation, and regional integration.
He lamented that “Africa still accounts for a disproportionate 39% of the global poor, despite accounting for just 17% of the world’s population. Our share of global trade, once at a level of 5% in the 1960s, has dwindled to under 3%. Our manufacturing value-added
remains a mere 2% of the global total.
“These are not just mere statistics – the implications are seen on real people every day, in terms of high infant mortality; rampant deaths due to malnutrition and diseases; very limited access to healthcare; hundreds who die attempting to cross the Mediterranean, to Europe; and lack of respect for our people, and so on,” he said.
Earlier, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NSIA, Mr. Aminu Umar-Sadiq, said the meeting would focus on how Africa Sovereign Wealth Funds, through effective domestic, continental, and global partnerships, could achieve three objectives;
“First, how we can Offer the right balance between being risk-takers saddled with the responsibility of catalysing economic impact on the one hand; and being conservative investors managing wealth for our future generations on the other.
“Secondly, how we can collectively co-create a sustainable investment vehicle that can mobilize global capital at scale to channel towards propositions that offer as much emphasis on commercial returns as on social returns,
“Thirdly, how we can position ourselves as the preferred financial and strategic partners of choice – with the right blend of domestic influence and capital for global investors seeking market exposure in our respective countries.
“We will do so through an excellent blend of keynotes, panel discussions, fireside chats and in-depth knowledge sessions that touch upon areas such as sustainable infrastructure, wealth creation through agriculture, climate finance, AI and the critical role that private capital, DFIs and institutional investors play in Africa’s development.
“We will also be signing a plethora of investment and strategic agreements that will give impetus to our collective will to drive transformation through investments and partnerships,” he said.
