Sovereign funds, a real catalyst for the emergence of Africa

Sovereign and strategic funds can be a real catalyst for a sustainable emergence of the African continent, underlined recently the ambassador and director general of the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI), Mohamed Methqal. “Our continent needs to accelerate its emergence. And for that, investment, co-investment and co-development in priority projects and sectors in African countries are becoming an imperative,” said Mr. Methqal who spoke at the closing of the work of the African Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF) held on 20 and 21 June. In this respect, the role of sovereign and strategic funds in this dynamic with their leverage effect becomes essential and must also be complementary to other traditional sources of capital which already contribute to the financing of African development, he continued. In addition, reports the MAP, sovereign and strategic funds can be a locomotive for the local private sectors by pulling them and associating them in the implementation of local or regional projects and in which their financial resources will be invested. it belongs. Mr. Methqal thus welcomed the initiatives launched at the end of the Forum, convinced that this platform will contribute to strengthening South-South partnerships, to developing co-investment in African countries as well as in transformative regional projects and to accelerate regional economic integration. Furthermore, he called on economic and financial players in Morocco and fellow African countries as well as international economic and financial players to pursue their commitments in the service of African emergence, by putting in place solutions to meet the continent’s challenges on the basis of its strengths while innovating according to its specificities, priorities and local realities. “For this, we must innovate, join our efforts collectively and put in place inclusive and sustainable growth models for our continent, in a logic of coherence, complementarity, responsibility and solidarity”, noted the DG of the AMCI. In this wake, he noted that the mobilization must be “global and widened”, by associating alongside governments, the business world and financial actors, but also civil society, cities and regions, young people and women for sustainable and human development of the African continent. “The potential for cooperation between African countries is truly massive and the possibilities exist without limit. African sovereign and strategic funds and their international partnerships must have a pioneering and catalytic role in this African revolution”, he raised. Marked by a Royal message addressed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI to the participants, and which was read by the Deputy Minister in charge of the Budget, Fouzi Lekjaa, this Forum was an opportunity for leaders, senior managers of sovereign funds , as well as representatives of States and the private sector from various countries in Africa and elsewhere, to discuss the opportunities offered by Africa. Held under the High Patronage of His Majesty the King, this Forum brought together a dozen African sovereign wealth funds, including Ithmar Capital, to create a first network of its kind on the continent, ASIF, whose main objective is to federate its members around challenges facing African economies in financing and mobilizing investment. Created in 2011, Ithmar is a strategic investment fund whose primary purpose is to support Morocco’s economic development. A multi-sector fund, Ithmar aims to promote investment in all national strategic sectors by developing structuring and transformational projects with a strong impact.