• Angola, Gemcorp launch $500M Africa infrastructure fund based in Abu Dhabi
  
• Fund targets energy, minerals, food, water; FSDEA, Gemcorp commit $100M
  
• Aims to attract Gulf, European investors; marks FSDEA’s strategic shift
  

Angola’s sovereign wealth fund and asset manager Gemcorp Capital have launched a $500 million pan-African infrastructure fund, according to a statement issued on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, where the vehicle will be based.

The Pan-African Infrastructure Fund will seek private capital for strategic sectors including critical minerals, water, food security, the energy transition and other industrial development projects across the continent.

The fund will be domiciled in Abu Dhabi to tap growing interest from Gulf investors in Africa, according to a statement from the emirate.

Armando Manuel, chairman of the Fundo Soberano de Angola (FSDEA), said the sovereign fund would commit an initial $50 million, an amount that could rise to as much as $200 million. Gemcorp, which operates across emerging markets, plans to contribute up to $50 million and will rely on its on-the-ground teams in Africa to oversee projects.

The remaining capital will be raised from international investors looking to diversify their portfolios. Gemcorp said it had seen rising interest from European pension funds, Gulf institutional investors and family offices seeking exposure to African assets.

Gemcorp has been active in Angola for a decade and has previously invested in renewable energy, water treatment systems and power grids on the continent. Locating the fund in Abu Dhabi is meant to capture part of the growing flow of Middle Eastern capital directed toward Africa in recent years.

The launch marks a strategic shift for the FSDEA. Established in 2011, the sovereign fund began operations in 2012 with $5 billion and now manages about $4 billion. It had long been associated with controversial investments and governance problems, notably after its former head, José Filomeno dos Santos, was convicted of fraud and embezzlement in 2020.

The FSDEA said it now aims to diversify a portfolio heavily exposed to U.S., European and Asian markets and increase its African investments. “We have a responsibility to look more toward our own continent,” Manuel said.

Fiacre E. Kakpo