Hosted by Rwanda’s Agaciro Development Fund, the event showcased the continent’s sovereign funds’ commitment to collaboration and joint capital raises for their resilience and sustainable development.
The Africa Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF) held its 2023 annual meetings in Kigali, Rwanda on 6th-7th July 2023. The meeting marked the second convening of the Forum since its inaugural meeting in Rabat, Morocco in 2022.
The host of the 2023 Meeting was Agaciro Development Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Rwanda. Held under the theme “Strategic Partnerships: Driving Africa’s Resilience and Sustainable Development”, the event also marked the 10th year anniversary of Agaciro.
In attendance were: Ithmar Capital of Morocco, Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund, Sovereign Fund of Egypt, FSDEA of Angola, Sovereign Fund of Djibouti, Mauritius Investment Corporation, Ethiopia Investment Holdings, Agaciro Development of Fund of Rwanda and Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority. Two founding members FONSIS of Senegal and the Gabonese Fund for Strategic Investment could not attend this year’s meetings.
Obaïd Amrane, Chairman of ASIF and CEO of Ithmar Capital said the successful hosting of the 2nd meeting by Agaciro showed that the continent’s sovereign funds were determined to work together on mutually beneficial goals for their countries and the continent. He reiterated that ASIF members were on track to achieve their first successful joint capital raise.
The Prime Minister of Rwanda Edouard Ngirente congratulated the continent’s SWFs for their commitment to collaborate and urged them to continue to uphold the high governance and fund management standards required for Africa’s SWFs to scale their impact and be sustainable.
The two-day meetings featured speakers and panels on diverse themes. They included high-level representatives of regional bodies and multilateral institutions including African Union, African Development Bank, Africa50, Development bank of Southern Africa among others.
Solomon Qyanor, AfDB’s Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation said the AfDB is committed to support ASIF and its members to succeed. He said the AfDB will support the operations of ASIF’s secretariat and increase its investment collaboration with ASIF members for country level investments.