Tinubu urges smarter use of sovereign wealth for Africa’s growth

By Kunle Sanni –

President Bola Tinubu has urged African nations to work together and deploy their sovereign wealth funds more strategically to address the continent’s infrastructure deficit, strengthen climate resilience, and create jobs for its rapidly growing youth population.

Speaking through Vice President Kashim Shettima on Monday in Abuja, President Tinubu made the call while declaring open the 4th Annual Meeting of the Africa Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF), hosted by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

The meeting, themed “Leveraging African Sovereign Wealth Funds to Mobilise Global Capital for Transformative Development in Africa,” brought together policymakers, fund managers, and development partners to explore ways to attract more investment into Africa.

“Our future lies not in working in silos but in pursuing regional cooperation and collective ambition,” Tinubu said. “Our sovereign wealth funds must become the anchors for pan-African investment platforms that de-risk projects, standardise processes, and deliver sustainable outcomes at scale. This is not just a strategy. This is a necessity.”

He noted that many African countries face limited fiscal space even as the demand for long-term capital to drive inclusive and sustainable growth continues to rise. According to him, sovereign wealth funds must evolve from being mere fiscal buffers to becoming catalysts for national transformation.

Tinubu commended the launch of the ASIF Investment Platform, describing it as a bold step to pool Africa’s capital, expertise, and networks to finance high-impact, cross-border projects.

Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said the forum’s priorities include mobilising capital at scale, deepening regional partnerships, and aligning policies to unlock growth.

Also speaking, President of Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah, stressed the need for Africa’s sovereign wealth funds to invest more in local economies rather than outside the continent. He dismissed claims that Africa lacks viable projects, insisting the challenge lies in making strategic investment decisions.