Tinubu urges Pan-African cooperation to harness sovereign wealth funds for transformative development
Abdullateef Fowewe
President Bola Tinubu has called on African nations to unite in leveraging sovereign wealth funds as powerful tools to close the continent’s infrastructure gap, build climate resilience, and create jobs for its burgeoning youth population.
This was obtained in a statement on Monday by the Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media & Communications (Office of The Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha.
Speaking at the opening of the 4th Annual Meeting of the Africa Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF) in Abuja, hosted by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Tinubu—represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima—emphasised the need for regional cooperation and innovative investment strategies to mobilize global capital for Africa’s sustainable development.
Highlighting the theme, “Leveraging African Sovereign Wealth Funds to Mobilise Global Capital for Transformative Development in Africa,” the President urged African countries to move beyond working in silos and adopt collective ambitions. He described sovereign wealth funds as critical anchors for pan-African investment platforms that can de-risk projects, standardize processes, and deliver sustainable outcomes at scale.
“Africa’s future depends on catalytic institutions that combine strategic foresight with sound financial discipline,” Tinubu said, praising NSIA’s role as a steward of sovereign capital and a catalyst for strategic infrastructure, renewable energy, healthcare, agriculture, and digital economy investments.
The President 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 also applauded the launch of the ASIF Investment Platform, a bold initiative pooling Africa’s capital, expertise, and networks to finance high-impact cross-border projects, advancing inclusive and sustainable development.
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”.
Finance Minister Wale Edun, Afreximbank President Benedict Oramah, ASIF Chairman Obaid Amrane, and other key stakeholders echoed the call for capital mobilization, regional collaboration, and prioritization of domestic investments to reshape Africa’s development financing landscape.
Pan-African advocate Prof. PLO Lumumba urged leaders to invest sovereign funds within Africa to secure the continent’s future for generations yet unborn.
The forum, attended by top government officials, financial leaders, and international partners, underscored the urgency of collective action to unlock Africa’s latent potential through innovative, collaborative investment strategies.
