President Bola Tinubu has urged African leaders and financial institutions to work collaboratively and deploy the continent’s sovereign wealth funds with discipline and foresight to address pressing developmental challenges, including infrastructure deficits, climate resilience, and youth unemployment.
Speaking on Monday in Abuja through Vice President Kashim Shettima at the opening of the 4th Annual Meeting of the Africa Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF), Mr Tinubu stressed the importance of regional cooperation and strategic capital mobilisation to unlock Africa’s potential.
The high-level event, hosted by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), carried the theme “Leveraging African Sovereign Wealth Funds to Mobilise Global Capital for Transformative Development in Africa.”
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Highlighting the urgency of the moment, Mr Tinubu noted that sovereign wealth funds across the world are evolving from being fiscal buffers to becoming key drivers of national transformation.
“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,” he said.
He described Africa’s development dilemma as a puzzle that requires creativity, pointing to the role of catalytic institutions like the NSIA in driving infrastructure investment, climate adaptation, food security, digital innovation, and SME growth.
Mr Tinubu lauded the formal launch of the ASIF Investment Platform, describing it as a bold and strategic initiative that pools African capital, expertise and networks to support high-impact, cross-border projects.
“It is a step forward in advancing inclusive and sustainable development across the continent,” he added.
Finance Minister Wale Edun identified key priorities for the forum: large-scale capital mobilisation, regional collaboration, human capital development, and policy alignment.
He expressed optimism that the meeting would lead to tangible transactions and impactful partnerships.
Afreximbank President Benedict Oramah challenged African stakeholders to invest sovereign wealth funds domestically, rejecting the claim that the continent lacks bankable projects.
Chairman of ASIF, Obaid Amrane, reaffirmed the forum’s commitment to closing Africa’s infrastructure funding gaps and driving inclusive development.
In just three years, he said, ASIF had made significant progress in positioning Africa more strongly on the global investment map.
NSIA Managing Director, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, stressed the pivotal role of private capital in infrastructure growth and outlined the forum’s priorities for catalysing investments across key sectors.
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Pan-African thinker PLO Lumumba called on African leaders to invest the continent’s wealth within Africa for the benefit of future generations.
“Africa’s resources are inexhaustible. Our duty is intergenerational—to secure the future of those yet unborn.”
Other dignitaries at the event included Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole; CEO of Africa Finance Corporation, Samaila Zubairu; UN Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All, Damilola Ogunbiyi; FIRS Chairman, Zacch Adedeji; Africa50 CEO, Alain Ebonisse; and International Solar Alliance DG, Ashish Khanna.
