By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)- Africa investor (Ai), a leading international investment and communications group, Tuesday announced a $1.0 billion Sovereign Infrastructure Investment Platform, for African pension and sovereign wealth funds at the 7th Ai CEO Institutional Investment Summit, held in partnership with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), United States.

A statement from the investment group made available to InvestAdvocate by Yakubu Olaleye, head, media of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said the platform would be continually developed in close partnership with African pension and sovereign wealth funds.

According to the Ai, the new platform is uniquely designed to increase intra-African investment, which is currently at a mere five percent compared to intra-European investment levels in excess of 70 percent.

‘’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,’’ Ai said.

Following this development, 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.

The 7th Ai CEO Institutional Investment Summit was billed as the institutional investor community follow-up to the recent President Obama-led US-Africa Leaders’ Summit, focused on facilitating co-investments between select African and US institutional investors, including sovereign wealth and pension funds, to invest in Africa’s fastest growing sectors and capital markets.

Ai says it 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 leading international investment and communications group affirmed that the report was launched during the 2014 Ai Heads of State Investment Advisory Council Dialogue, held in partnership with United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (UNOSAA) and Global Partnership Forum (GPF).

It said 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, GPF, 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,’’ Ai affirmed.

Hubert Danso, CEO and Vice Chairman of Ai while commenting on the summit said they are delighted with the level of participation of African and global institutional investors, and therealisation 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.

Apart from the NYSE, other partners at the summit included: GE Africa, Ecobank, the Securities Exchange Commission, Nigeria, BizClim, IFC, Auerbach Grayson & Co, ASEA, UNOSAA, Global Partnerships Forum, United Nations Office for Partnerships, World Pensions Council, ILPA, AVCA, Market Atlas, The Africa-America Institute, Africa PLC, the Quadrant Company, AllAfrica and the Bunengi Group.

The Summit formed part of Ai’s annual US roadshow for African Business and Investment Leaders, which will be moving to the World Bank Annual Meetings on the 9th of October 2014 at the Ritz Carlton in association with the World Bank Group.