Text of the speech delivered by Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina at the launch of the World Africa Investment Summit held in Dubai on February 3, 2026
His Excellency João Lourenco, President of the Republic of Angola and President of the African Union.
His Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania.
His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana.
Represented by His Excellency Daniel Chapo, President of the Republic of Mozambique, and Her Excellency Maria Levy, Prime Minister of Mozambique.
Margery Krauss, APCO Chairman and my co-founder and Vice Chairman of the Global Africa Investment Summit.
Linda Thomas Greenfield, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations;
Honorable Ministers and Senior Government Leaders
Global CEOs and business leaders.
Dear ladies and gentlemen, I respect you.
Good evening and welcome!
I would like to thank His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates for hosting the World Government Summit, now the global gold standard for dialogue on effective governance in a rapidly changing world.
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It’s always a pleasure to be in Dubai, a city that embodies bold vision, decisive action and relentless execution.
Before I begin, I would like to express my solidarity with the people of Mozambique who have suffered devastating floods. We wish President Chapo and the Mozambican people strength, resilience and a speedy recovery. May God comfort all those who have lost a loved one.
I would like to express my deep gratitude to President Lourenco, President Hassan, President Mahama, and President Chapo (representing Prime Minister Levy) for the honor of attending this World Africa Investment Summit announcement.
Your presence warms our hearts, inspires our desire, and puts wind in our sails. You are pioneers and leaders who recognize opportunities before they fully present themselves. Your personal participation will send a strong signal of commitment to mobilizing global capital to Africa’s next growth frontier.
Thank you to all the global CEOs and business leaders who are joining us today. Your presence confirms our confidence in Africa’s future. You are our strategic partner in building lasting value.
I am very optimistic about Africa’s future, and the data supports this optimism.
According to IMF projections, Africa will record the world’s highest real GDP growth rate of 4.0% in 2026. More importantly, for the first time in history, Africa is projected to maintain the highest growth rate of all regions for the next four years in a row.
This is not a temporary rebound.
Africa’s growth resurgence is real and offers attractive benefits.
Global companies are successful across continents. MTN Group is backed by investors including BlackRock and Vanguard. Dangote Group is Africa’s largest conglomerate with one of the world’s largest refineries. Safaricom is the world’s most successful mobile money platform. Jumia is the first African-focused technology company to list on the New York Stock Exchange.
Africa is no longer a promise.
Africa is a portfolio.
Africa’s sovereign assets span oil and gas, minerals, metals, rare earths, energy infrastructure, railways, ports and airports, digital infrastructure, natural capital, the blue economy, transport corridors and other strategic infrastructure.
Africa currently holds approximately 30% of the world’s known mineral reserves, including critical minerals essential to the energy transition, yet less than 5% of global capital flows into these sectors. That gap is not a risk. Pricing is incorrect.
Africa is rich in assets but poor in liquidity.
But these are all real assets that generate cash. However, assets are often mispriced, undervalued, or misunderstood, while perceived risks are overvalued and returns are undervalued.
These are not frontier bets. These are cash flow assets with underutilized potential.
These sovereign assets have the potential to deliver returns that exceed market benchmarks. Simply put, Africa represents an attractive alpha opportunity. Boost returns through better structuring, risk avoidance, and strong governance.
Africa is seeking mutually beneficial co-investment partnerships to extract value from these sovereign assets.
Currently, there is no reliable global platform that systematically connects global capital to Africa’s strategic sovereign assets.
There is no single trusted and trusted channel through which investors can access the pipeline of investment grade sovereign asset opportunities across Africa.
Engagement is fragmented. Investors often move from country to country without a consistent framework for discovering, valuing and structuring assets. Limited transparency in asset valuation and transaction preparation can reduce trust and increase risk perception. Due diligence is costly when asset information is inconsistent, incomplete, and not presented in an investment-friendly format.
The Global Africa Investment Summit bridges that gap.
The Global Africa Investment Summit (GAIS) is an innovative platform that aims to unlock Africa’s vast investment potential by transforming sovereign public assets into risk-free, investment-ready portfolios that drive sustainable, investor-led growth.
GAIS was established to address a structural gap in the market: the lack of a reliable and scalable mechanism that connects global capital to Africa’s strategic sovereign assets in a way that meets institutional standards of risk, return, and governance.
It connects African governments with global asset managers, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and strategic investors for large-scale capital deployments over the long term, rather than one-off transactions.
Africa is not without assets.
Africa lacks a platform to systematically reduce risk.
That is the purpose of GAIS.
GAIS transforms sovereign public assets into investment-ready portfolios through improved structuring, risk mitigation, governance, and policy alignment.
I am honored to serve as co-founder and executive chair of the Global Africa Investment Summit. We would like to thank our co-founder and vice-chairman Margery Kraus, our ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and our talented team who have worked intensively to build this platform since September 2025. The Summit is the result of that effort.
Let me join in applauding the outstanding work of all of them. (Applause)
We do not offer one-off projects. We provide a platform for long-term partnerships and large-scale investments with predictable returns.
The Global Africa Investment Summit will be very selective. We introduce assets that meet four criteria: high asset quality, tangible returns, strong policy control, and clear regional or global demand. This reduces execution risk and shortens the path to bankability.
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GAIS is underpinned by strong political commitment and transparent governance, as evidenced by the presence of African Heads of State and Government here today.
The presence of African heads of state and government is not just symbolic, but a signal of risk mitigation to global capital.
Global partners are also stepping up. Italian Prime Minister Meloni aptly said:
“The Global Africa Investment Summit represents a unique platform to build new bridges between African assets and global capital. Italy’s Mattei Plan for Africa is ready to create synergies with GAIS to develop investment opportunities for growth, jobs and shared prosperity.”
We welcome partners from around the world to invest in African sovereign assets through the Global Africa Investment Summit.
This is not just good development policy. It’s a sound investment strategy.
Please join us at the Global Africa Investment Summit.
I hope you leave today not just with an interest, but with a determination to commit capital and unlock Africa’s vast sovereign assets.
Leaders are ready. The asset is ready. The platform is ready.
The returns are attractive.
The time to act is now.
Join us and be a part of this defining moment.
thank you very much.
Muito Obrigado.
Merci beaucoup.
Asante Sana.
Shukran Jajran.
