By PETER EGWUATU

Africa Investor, Ai has announced its $1billion Africa investor Sovereign Infrastructure Investment Platform, for African pension and sovereign wealth funds – continually developed in close partnership with African pension and sovereign wealth funds.

This was disclosed at the 7th Ai CEO Institutional Investment Summit, held in partnership with the New York Stock Exchange.

According to a statement after the summit, Ai , a leading international investment and communications group and US institutional investors, including sovereign wealth and pension funds, have agreed to invest in Africa’s fastest growing sectors and capital markets.

The new Ai platform is uniquely designed to increase intra-African investment, which is currently at a mere 5 per cent compared to intra-European investment levels in excess of 70 per cent.

The Ai Platform will achieve this through its co-investment programme, designed to extend and increase the level of co-investment between not only African pension and sovereign wealth funds (both public and private), but also amongst their international peers.

The Ai Sovereign Infrastructure Investment Platform will therefore catalyse Africa’s domestic assets and de-risk and attract increased allocations from the $30 trillion-plus global institutional capital seeking growth.

Africa investor provided additional thought leadership at the summit with the launch of its new BizClim-supported report, The African Sovereign Wealth and Pension Funds Summit Report, on mobilising domestic African capital as a tool to leverage global institutional capital.

The report was launched during the 2014 Ai Heads of State Investment Advisory Council Dialogue, held in partnership with UNOSAA and GPF. The Heads of State and ministerial dialogue featured Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama; Hubert Danso, CEO and Vice Chairman, Africa investor; Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson, African Union; Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz, Under- Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa, United Nations; Amir Dossal, Chairman, Global Partnerships Forum, and a number of Ministers from around Africa.

The panel saw a further commitment from Africa’s leaders on developing a conducive environment for improving the participation and regulatory environment for African pension and sovereign wealth funds, based on the recommendations from the Ai BizClim-supported report on facilitating co-investments with African pension and sovereign wealth fund capital for infrastructure investment on the continent.

Africa investor Capital also hosted a series of one-on-one investor meetings during the Summit in partnership with Auerbach Grayson & Company.

Commenting on the Summit, Hubert Danso, CEO and Vice Chairman of Africa investor, said, “We are delighted with the level of the participation of African and global institutional investors, and the realisation that Ai’s co-investment platform not only benefits Africa’s growth, but the global economy also, through reciprocal international allocations and the creation of new markets.”