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Second Annual Meeting of Africa Sovereign Investors Forum highlights importance of strategic partnerships

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Sovereign Investors Forum

ASIF was launched in the Moroccan capital Rabat in June 2022 by a group of ten African sovereign wealth funds

KIGALI, Rwanda, July 12, 2023/APO Group/ — 

African Development Bank (http://www.AfDB.org) Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure, and Industrialisation Solomon Quaynor has called for unity to unlock the potential of African sovereign wealth funds, strategic investment funds, pensions, and life insurance assets, estimated at $2.3 trillion.

Speaking at the Second Annual Meeting of the Africa Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF) in Kigali last week, Quaynor said the African Development Bank was committed to supporting the establishment and operations of the African Sovereign Wealth Funds secretariat, while working with ASIF members to develop and finance transformative strategic projects across the continent. He said that with a determined focus on Africa’s development needs, the African Development Bank would mobilise billions to trillions of dollars, cementing its role as a key catalyst for economic growth and prosperity in Africa.

The meeting ran from the 6th to 7th of July under the theme, “Strategic Partnerships: driving Africa’s resilience and sustainable development.”

ASIF was launched in the Moroccan capital Rabat in June 2022 by a group of ten African sovereign wealth funds. Its goal is to facilitate the mobilisation of long-term capital to develop Africa. During the inaugural event, the African Development Bank, Africa50, and ASIF jointly signed a letter of intent to foster cooperation in the development of green and climate-resilient infrastructure projects across Africa. This partnership will strengthen the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA).

It is our role as sovereign funds and Africans to set the example and act to transform these opportunities into projects and investment

ASIF founding members include prominent sovereign wealth funds like the Agaciro Development Fund (https://www.Agaciro.rw/) from Rwanda, Fonds Souverain de Djibouti, Fonds Gabonais d’Investissements Stratégiques (https://FGIS-Gabon.com/fr/), Fonds Souverain d’Investissements Stratégiques (https://www.FonSIS.org/fr) from Senegal, Fundo Soberano de Angola (https://apo-opa.info/3JQzO7B), the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (https://apo-opa.info/3JVMnP0), Ithmar Capital (https://apo-opa.info/3NWCGBs) in Morocco, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (https://NSIA.com.ng/), and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (https://TSFE.com/).

Last week’s meeting, hosted by the Agaciro Development Fund, offered a platform for dialogue and collaboration among African sovereign wealth funds, strategic investment funds, pension funds, life insurance companies, asset managers, governments, regulators, and investment professionals. The forum helped bolster strategic partnerships to facilitate the pooling of financial and technical resources to drive investment in sectors critical to Africa’s development such as climate-resilient energy, infrastructure, healthcare, technology, and agriculture. Discussions centred on showcasing Africa’s vast investment opportunities, understanding the risk landscape, and fostering partnerships to mobilise substantial capital and investment to support Africa’s economic transformation.

Rwandan Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente said he expected African sovereign wealth funds to play a key role in developing an efficient and diversified economy through equitable diversification and generation of wealth for future generations.

“To achieve this, we must ensure that these funds are well-managed,” Ngirente said. Minister of Public Investments and Privatisation of Rwanda Eric Rwigamba underscored the challenges that Africa faced. He emphasised the importance of seizing the opportunity presented by ASIF’s second annual meeting.

Rwigamba acknowledged the value of creating a platform that unites key stakeholders and global experts to engage in dialogue and deliberations, “whose outcomes will contribute to shape our strategic focus on our shared vision of Africa and its development aspirations in an increasingly competitive global economic environment.”

Ithmar Capital CEO and ASIF Chairperson Obaïd Amrane outlined Ithmar Capital’s goal of fostering investments and crowd-in international capital. Amrane said it was “time for Africa to be considered and perceived as an investment destination and not only an aid for development one.” He added: “It is nowadays more than possible to deploy capital on the continent on international standards. It is our role as sovereign funds and Africans to set the example and act to transform these opportunities into projects and investment.”

Two sovereign wealth funds, Ethiopia Investment Holdings and Mauritius Investment Corporation, have joined ASIF, further expanding the forum’s membership. Participants agreed on the criticality of mobilising African institutional investments into transformative projects in Africa, noting that this would attract global private and institutional investors to the African continent.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

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Ministers among hundreds of energy-sector leaders to attend AOW event

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Sinclair

The event kicks off with an invitation-only ministerial symposium focused on the theme of “Fostering innovation, attracting investment, and promoting sustainable growth in the oil, gas, and energy sectors”

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 4, 2024/APO Group/ — 

AOW: Investing in African Energy (https://AOWEnergy.com) – Africa’s leading oil, gas and energy event – has confirmed attendance for more than 80 ministers and senior officials, representing African governments, energy departments and regulators at next month’s event.

These influential stakeholders will be among the more than 1 600 senior delegates and industry leaders who will be attending the event to develop policy, share discoveries, secure investment, and shape Africa’s energy future.

The event kicks off with an invitation-only ministerial symposium focused on the theme of “Fostering innovation, attracting investment, and promoting sustainable growth in the oil, gas, and energy sectors.”

Given the recent major oil-and-gas discoveries across Africa, the energy transition and major geopolitical events, it is clear that the energy sector needs positive intervention

Among the officials and government ministers attending will be energy leaders from South Africa, Nigeria, Namibia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique, DRC, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Eswatini, Uganda, CAR, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Gabon, Malawi, Morocco, Zanzibar, Liberia, Senegal, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone.

In addition, the event will feature high-level delegations from numerous national oil companies, as well as multilateral bodies including the African Union, (AU), African Energy Commission (AFREC), African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

AOW will see these energy leaders networking with C-suite executives and decision-makers from more than 760 top energy companies at daily networking events, to discuss insights, forge new relationships, and negotiate major energy deals.

“We are so excited to see the calibre of delegates at this year’s AOW event,” says Chief Executive Officer of Sankofa Events, Paul Sinclair. “Given the recent major oil-and-gas discoveries across Africa, the energy transition and major geopolitical events, it is clear that the energy sector needs positive intervention. The high-powered attendance proves AOW is a key platform to enable this intervention.”

Key themes to be discussed at this year’s AOW will be sustainable upstream development; expanding gas value chains; renewables and new energies; adoption of best-in-class technologies; and access to finance.

AOW: Investing in African Energy will culminate in a special anniversary party at Groot Constantia Vineyard to celebrate 30 years of the AOW event.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of AOW: Investing in African Energy.

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Afreximbank approves US$20.8 million for Starlink Global’s cashew factory project in Lagos

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The facility is expected to promote value addition which will guarantee increased earnings to the company while also fostering the creation of about 400 new jobs

CAIRO, Egypt, October 4, 2024/APO Group/ — 

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) has approved a US$20.8 million financing facility for Nigeria-based Starlink Global & Ideal Limited to enable the company construct and operate a 30,000-metric tonne per annum cashew processing factory in Lagos.

We are delighted at this partnership which promises to deliver significant impact on employment in Nigeria

According to the facility agreement signed in on July 22, 2024, Afreximbank will provide the funds in two tranches with the first tranche of US$7.48M going toward capital expenditure for the construction of the factory and the second, totalling US$13.25M to be deployed as working capital for the operations of the factory.

The facility is expected to promote value addition which will guarantee increased earnings to the company while also fostering the creation of about 400 new jobs once the factory becomes operational. It is also expected to support about 40 small and medium-sized enterprises.

Commenting on the transaction, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra Africa Trade and Export Development, Afreximbank, said that by supporting Starlink Global to establish a modern processing facility, Afreximbank is making it possible for Africa to add value to its agro-commodities, thereby facilitating exports and subsequent inflow of much-needed foreign exchange into the continent.

“We are delighted at this partnership which promises to deliver significant impact on employment in Nigeria. It will contribute to value creation and to the development of the local community while also improving the lots of smallholder farmers and small business suppliers that will work with Starlink across the value chain,” Mrs. Awani added.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

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Sonangol to Lead Decarbonized Oil & Gas (O&G) Development, Says Angolan National Oil Company (NOC) Head

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Sonangol

Participating in an on-stage interview at Angola Oil & Gas 2024, Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins emphasized that oil and gas remains a core focus for the national oil company

LUANDA, Angola, October 3, 2024/APO Group/ — 

Angola’s national oil company Sonangol reiterated its commitment to driving sustainable hydrocarbon development during the Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) conference this week. Speaking during an “In-Conversation with” session, Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins stated that the company will not abandon oil and gas, but rather advance decarbonized oil and gas development.

We are looking at opportunities in the gas sector and have identified the right partner to develop non-associated gas

By investing in upstream oil and gas production while prioritizing low-carbon projects, Sonangol aims to boost national crude output, while diversifying and decarbonizing the industry. The NOC is focusing efforts on non-associated gas development, as well as alternative energy sources such as solar.

“We are looking at opportunities in the gas sector and have identified the right partner to develop non-associated gas. Gas produced from Angola LNG will be used for the production of fertilizer and we are evaluating the utilization of gas in the south of the country, linking gas with steel industries. We also have a blue carbon project, linked to the reduction of carbon through the plantation of mangroves. We have one area in Luanda and have identified four additional areas for this,” stated Gaspar Martins.

Sonangol has undergone transformation in recent years: following the creation of the National Oil, Gas & Biofuels Agency (ANPG) in 2019, Sonangol transferred its role as national concessionaire and regulator. This transformation has aimed to make Sonangol more competitive and strengthen its capacity as an upstream operator. Concurrently, the government is partially privatizing the NOC, with privatization set to be complete in 2026. This process will enhance financial capacity, allowing Sonangol to drive new upstream projects forward.

“The transformation of Sonangol started several years ago, when we passed the regulatory, concessionaire role to the ANPG. At the time, we transferred almost 600 employees to the ANPG. After that, Sonangol underwent a restructuring program where we created five core business units from 36 different entities – starting with exploration and production. We want to go public, but we want to do it properly. So, we are currently going through all the processes to do this,” stated Gaspar Martins.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

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