There are 21 African Sovereign wealth funds with total assets of $165 billion in In Algeria, Libya, Botswana, Angola, Gabon, Congo, Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, Mauritania, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Sao Tome and Principe, Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, South Sudan, Zimbabwe countries, in addition to Egypt Recently, according to the Minister of Planning Hala el-Saeed. The Minister made those comments on the side lines of Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2018), held between December 11 and 17 2018 in Egypt in participation of 1055 African companies of which 300 are Egyptian companies. el-Saeed further noted that these funds play an important role in supporting local and regional economic development in Africa, particularly through the development of infrastructure and industrial development projects that leads to increasing the productivity and structural shift towards long-term and sustainable development. A sovereign wealth fund or sovereign investment fund is a state-owned investment fund that invests in real and financial assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, precious metals, or in alternative investments such as private equity fund or hedge funds. The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is organising the inaugural Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2018) in cooperation with the African Union and the Export Development Authority represented by the Egyptian Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It provides an opportunity for exhibitors to showcase their goods and services, engage in Business to Business (B2B) exchanges and conclude business deals. IATF provides a platform for entry into a single market of over one billion people joined together under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
