Luanda: The executive chairman of the Global Africa Investment Summit (GAIS), Akinwumi Adesina, announced on Tuesday in Luanda that the first Global Investment Summit, dedicated to raising capital for African sovereign assets, is expected to take place later this year in Angola.
According to Angola Press News Agency, GAIS has the direct support of Angolan President and African Union Chairperson Joo Louren§o. Speaking to the press following a meeting with President Joo Louren§o in Luanda, Adesina stated that GAIS is a new global platform created to connect international investors to African sovereign assets, valued at around six trillion dollars. Many of these assets remain undervalued and underleveraged.
He highlighted that Africa possesses vast natural and strategic resources, such as oil, gas, critical minerals, metals, rare earths, and infrastructure assets, but lacks structured mechanisms for global capital to efficiently invest in these assets. The Global Africa Investment Summit aims to eliminate these barriers, reduce transaction costs, and create a platform for direct connection between global capital and African sovereign assets, without compromising state sovereignty.
Adesina emphasized Joo Louren§o’s pivotal role as the ‘champion’ of the initiative, noting the Angolan Head of State’s political leadership since its official launch on February 3 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where Louren§o participated as chairperson of the African Union. This dual representation underscored the necessity of better structuring African sovereign assets to transform the continent’s potential into economic value.
The CEO mentioned that the meeting with the Angolan president served to express gratitude for his support and address practical aspects of the upcoming summit, which is expected to occur by the end of the year in Luanda. The platform will focus on strategic sectors like energy, infrastructure, agriculture, mining, oil and gas, tourism, digital economy, artificial intelligence, and data centers, deemed essential for economic diversification and sustainable growth on the continent.
Adesina noted that GAIS aims to attract long-term institutional investors by structuring portfolios of African assets with stable returns, suitable for long-term investments. The initiative also seeks to improve the regulatory environment and public policies in African countries to ensure predictability and legal certainty, crucial for attracting foreign investment.
He stressed that Africa should not rely solely on external aid or debt, as development should be sustained by investments based on the continent’s assets. International projections indicate that Africa will have the highest real growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the coming years. For Adesina, the platform represents a structural change in Africa’s position in the global economy, asserting that Africa is essential for the future of energy transition, artificial intelligence, food security, and global growth.