Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration Fund Gets Boost
From 3 to 4 July 2023, the General Shareholders Meeting of Africa50 took place in Lome, Togo. It was agreed to boost the Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (IAF). Several Subscription Agreements and Letters of Intents were signed off on the occasion. The objective of the IAF is to catalyze investment flows into critical infrastructure across the African continent.
For this round, the Fund managed to mobilize the support of 18 institutions, including Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF), Development Finance Institution (DFI), commercial banks, pension funds, asset managers and one international institutional investor. Other entities have shown interest and are expected to join after first close.
During the meeting, several representatives made promising remarks as to the future of the Fund.
“I strongly believe that for African institutional investors, this is the time to change the investment narrative on Africa. It is remarkable and unprecedented to have 17 African institutions participating in such a transforming initiative to invest in an African infrastructure fund. With the Fund, we are positioning the Africa50 Group to play a lead role in helping to tap into the more than USD$98 trillion of global assets under management”.
AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina
The CEO of Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Fund (NSIA) Aminu Umar-Sadiq placed the priority on profitable, sustainable and responsible Infrastructure in order to positively contribute to the socio-economic development of Africa. The President of the West African Development Bank (BOAD) Serge Ukue underscored that his bank is always keen to support initiatives which support the ‘right infrastructure’ which spur economic growth and create opportunities for the youth of the continent.
“BADEA’s investments are meant to have meaningful impact in the economies of its partners countries across various sectors. Infrastructure has always been the main area of focus for BADEA. Africa is a region with tremendous potential and a key priority for us, we are therefore pleased to join a credible partner like Africa50 in this groundbreaking partnership, to scale-up infrastructure development on the continent”.
Arab Bank for Economic Development for Africa CEO Sidi Ould Tah
IAF CEO Vicent Le Guennou highlighted that Fund will reinforce African independence and sovereignty. In conclusion, the CEO of Africa50 Alain Ebobisse expressed his appreciation for being able to secure commitments from such prominent institutional investors. The IAF is a powerful instrument to convert a collective vision for transforming Africa’s infrastructure landscape.