From Victor Osula Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has called for stronger regional cooperation and collective action among African countries to unlock the continent’s transformative development potential.
Speaking in Abuja on Monday at the opening of the 4th Annual Meeting of the Africa Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF), hosted by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Tinubu emphasised the critical role of sovereign wealth funds in closing Africa’s infrastructure gap, boosting job creation, and strengthening climate resilience.
The meeting is themed, “Leveraging African Sovereign Wealth Funds to Mobilise Global Capital for Transformative Development in Africa”.
The event, according to the President, comes at a time when the world is experiencing rapid transformation and African nations must rise to the occasion.
He stated: “For Africa, it is time to seize the moment. Our sovereign wealth funds must evolve beyond serving as fiscal buffers and become instruments of national transformation.
“Our future lies not in working in silos but in pursuing regional cooperation and collective ambition.”
He urged African sovereign wealth funds to anchor pan-African investment platforms that de-risk projects, standardise processes, and deliver large-scale, sustainable outcomes.
Highlighting Africa’s current development dilemma, limited fiscal space amidst rising public expectation, Tinubu said innovation is essential.
“There can be no greater inspiration to reimagine how we invest.
“Whether in critical infrastructure, climate resilience, food security, or the digital economy, none of this is possible without catalytic institutions that combine strategic foresight with sound financial discipline.”
The President praised the NSIA as a model institution, describing it as both a steward of sovereign capital and a catalyst for national development in key sectors such as renewable energy, healthcare, agriculture, and infrastructure.
Tinubu also welcomed the launch of the ASIF Investment Platform, describing it as a strategic initiative that would enhance collaboration among Africa’s sovereign wealth funds.
In his remarks, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, outlined key priorities for ASIF stakeholders, including large-scale capital mobilisation, regional and intercontinental cooperation, human capital development, and policy alignment.
He expressed hope that the forum would lead to significant transactions capable of mobilising the resources needed to drive economic transformation and sustainable growth across Africa.
Chairman of ASIF, Obaid Amrane, reiterated the forum’s commitment to enabling sovereign investors to take an active role in Africa’s development.
He noted that within just three years, ASIF had made meaningful progress in closing infrastructure funding gaps and promoting collaboration between sovereign investors and African governments.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of the NSIA, Mr. Aminu Umar-Sadiq, emphasised the importance of private capital in infrastructure development, saying the ASIF platform will help catalyse transformative projects across sectors and countries.
Renowned Pan-Africanist, Prof. PLO Lumumba, in a passionate address, urged African leaders to invest sovereign funds within the continent, not abroad.
He stated, “We must treat Africa’s sovereign funds as an intergenerational trust. Let us invest in the unborn, not in foreign economies.
Africa’s resources are abundant. It is our duty to channel them into building the future we owe the next generation.”
