Strengthening the Role of African Sovereign Wealth Funds in the International Financial System

Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are government-owned investment funds that serve as key tools for stabilizing economies, promoting development, and saving and transferring wealth to future generations. At least 22 African countries have sovereign wealth funds, and several more are considering or in the process of establishing one. As SWFs gain momentum on the continent, they can play an important role in aiding the continent’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery, stabilization, and development.

This high-level meeting will convene 15 African countries, including the heads of sovereign wealth fund CEOs as well as deputy ministers, US officials, private sector leaders, and representatives from US and international, financial, and development institutions and initiatives—such as Prosper Africa, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds to discuss: the role and governance of sovereign wealth funds in Africa; ways for achieving profitability while promoting social responsibility and environmental sustainability; avenues for building strategic intra-African and international partnerships in the COVID-19 era and beyond; and ways for strengthening the role of sovereign wealth funds in the international financial system.