Layout:

Zambia and Botswana Turn to Mineral Wealth for New Fiscal Stabilization SWFs

3rd October, 2024

Facing revenue and spending pressures, two southern African countries – Zambia and Botswana – are examining proposals for sovereign wealth funds with a stabilization mandate, but given their structural challenges and spending pressures the plans maybe too little, too late.

Subscriber Post

FSDEA Comes Back to Life with Diversification Investments

4th September, 2024

Angola’s sovereign wealth fund, Fundo Soberano de Angola (FSDEA), is becoming steadily more active as it continues to find its feet as it recovers its reputation from the corruption scandal revealed in 2018 in the so-called Panama Papers.

Subscriber Post

Libya's SWF Prepares to Roar Back to Life

8th August, 2024

Libya’s sovereign wealth fund was one of the victims of the collapse of order in the North African state, restricted by sanctions and legal disputes since the fall of Muammar Qaddafi’s regime amid the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings and the resulting civil war.

Subscriber Post

New African SWFs Stumble Over Governance

8th July, 2024

Governance issues are an enduring concern for nascent African sovereign wealth funds and while Mozambique is looking for best practice in establishing a commodity-backed SWF, neighboring Zimbabwe is accused by anti-corruption watchdogs of failing to meet adequate standards in the operations of the Mutapa Investment Fund.

Subscriber Post

Abu Dhabi and France SWFs Firm Up African Tech VC Commitments

7th March, 2024

Sub-Saharan Africa is the final frontier for state-owned investors (SOIs), offering potential large rewards – but also significant challenges. For patient investors capable of honing in on good deals, the region offers significant long-term returns that could generate big yields, as well as demonstrating their commitment to sustainable development goals.

Subscriber Post

Libya’s Sovereign Fund Flexes Its Muscles, Plans Hotel Chain Takeover

13th February, 2024

The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) is flexing its financial muscles as it edged out of a UN sanctions regime with news that it is preparing a hostile takeover of South Africa’s Legacy Hotels via its Libyan African Investment Company (LAICO) subsidiary’s Ensemble Hotel brand.

Subscriber Post

Governance Fears Erupt Over New Zimbabwean Sovereign Fund

3rd October, 2023

Renamed the Mutapa Investment Fund after the vast kingdom that covered modern Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe’s sovereign wealth fund is expanding rapidly raising concerns that President Emmerson Mnangagwa is building an empire beyond the remit of the constitution.

Subscriber Post

Fund of the Month (Aug'23): Fonds Souverain de Djibouti (FSD)

1st August, 2023

Among the newest sovereign wealth funds in Africa, the Fonds Souverain de Djibouti (FSD) can be considered a hidden gem. The fund was established in 2020 to help improve governance and catalyze investments in strategic sectors to build long-term wealth for future generations. We had the great pleasure of speaking with its CEO, Mr. Slim Feriani, about the fund’s history, current status and developments, and future plans.

Mozambique Seeks to Relaunch Plan for Multi-Billion Gas-Backed Sovereign Fund

31st July, 2023

Mozambique is set to relaunch its plans for a sovereign wealth fund funded by LNG exports, which stalled in recent years amid instability in the country’s gas-rich north.

Subscriber Post

Ethiopia’s EIH and Mauritius’ MIC join Africa’s SWF Club

7th July, 2023

On Thursday and Friday this week, Agaciro Development Fund hosted the second annual meeting of the African Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF) in Kigali, Rwanda. The Forum was started by Morocco’s Ithmar Capital last year in Rabat in an attempt to increase collaboration among African SWFs, to compare notes of common challenges, and to create appealing, sizeable, Pan-African investment opportunities for foreign (e.g., Middle Eastern) SWFs.

Subscriber Post

Champions in Resilience: NSIA becomes Africa’s flagbearer

6th July, 2023

On June 30, Global SWF published the 2023 GSR Scoreboard that assesses the progress of State-Owned Investors around governance, sustainability, and resilience since 2020. There has been significant improvement in best practices globally during the past three years, including resilience factors.

Subscriber Post

Fund of the Month (Jun'23): Mauritius Investment Corporation (MIC)

1st June, 2023

If we talk about emerging SWFs with a specific focus, we need to talk about MIC, which was established in June 2020 to support and accelerate the economic development of Mauritius, grow national wealth, and build the country’s long-term economic resilience. We had the great pleasure of speaking with CEO Jitendra Bissessur about the fund’s origins and plans.