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African SWFs: The Art of Patience

23rd August, 2022

The development of African sovereign wealth funds is a slow process and missed targets are the norm, but a combination of the continent’s natural wealth, human resources and political will are facilitating progress.

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Ethiopia’s EIH onboards 27 assets; Gabon’s FGIS signs up for NZAOA

27th June, 2022

The past few days have been quite eventful for African SWFs. Last week, nine of the most active strategic funds of the continent signed an MoU in Rabat to create the African Sovereign Investment Forum (ASIF).

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Sovereign Investors Pour Billions Into Red Sea Ports and Logistics

21st June, 2022

The Red Sea is one of the world’s most strategically important trade routes and sovereign investors are bolstering infrastructure to capitalize on opportunities provided by the constant stream of cargo flowing between continents.

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A new SWF Forum is born – will this make any change?

20th June, 2022

Today, nine SWFs from Africa came together in Rabat, Morocco, to sign a new partnership agreement, creating the “African Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF)”. All of them except for Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) were already members of IFSWF, and four of them are also part of One Planet SWF Group.

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South Africa can’t shake its corruption problem

3rd June, 2022

The Public Investment Corporation (PIC), Africa's biggest pension manager with US$ 157 billion in AuM, has been buried in allegations of corruption since Jacob Zuma’s presidency. When Cyril Ramaphosa took office in 2018, he made his mission to root out such issues, including Zuma, the Guptas, and PIC. Four years later, it does not seem that things have improved much in the country or at the fund manager.

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Fund of the Month (Jun'22): Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH)

1st June, 2022

On January 31, 2022, the Federal Negarit Gazette of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia announced the establishment of the Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) to serve as the country’s strategic investment arm. The fund will have an authorized capital of ETB 100 bn (US$ 1.9 bn at today’s exchange rate) and be seeded with over 43 public enterprises across different sectors, including Ethiopian Airlines, CBE and Ethio Telecom, as well as significant landholdings. We had the great pleasure of chatting with EIH’s CEO, Mr. Mamo Mihretu, and its Deputy CEO, Ms. Bilen Mammo, about the fund’s establishment and vision of the organization’s future.

Namibia Launches Commodity-Backed Fund

12th May, 2022

Africa saw the launch of its latest sovereign wealth fund in the form of Nambia’s more conventional commodity-backed Welwitschia Fund.

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The Last Frontier: Gulf SWFs Compete for African Ports, But China is in Control

20th January, 2022

Oman, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are leading the competition to invest in African ports via their sovereign wealth funds as they seek to secure strategic control of resources and trade.

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2021 Ends with an African Roar

31st December, 2021

The conclusion of 2021 has a distinctly African feel in the world of sovereign wealth funds. In recent days, new funds have been proposed for Ethiopia and Egypt’s Suez Canal region, marking another milestone in the continent’s push for state-led investment.

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Fund of the Month (Dec'21): Agaciro Development Fund (AgDF)

1st December, 2021

Rwanda’s economy has been growing steadily for the past 20 years. In December 2011, the National Dialogue Council proposed the creation of a Sovereign Wealth Fund, which would be funded by contributions of civil servants and the Rwandan diaspora. We had the pleasure of catching up with Mr. Gilbert Nyatanyi, who has been CEO of Agaciro since September 2020 and wants to take his country’s SWF to the next level.

QIA Anchors Rwanda-Based Regional Fund as It Continues its Push into Africa Via Kigali

6th November, 2021

The Qatar Investment Authority has thrown its weight behind the US$250 million Virunga Africa Fund I as an anchor investor, alongside the US$2 billion Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB).

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Namibia’s SWF: What Do We Know About Africa's Newest Fund?

27th October, 2021

Namibia is set to launch Africa’s newest sovereign wealth fund in coming weeks, but details have been notably sketchy. The SWF will join Africa’s 30 SWFs or sub-funds, most of which are relatively minuscule, with combined wealth of US$98 billion.

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