By Giwa SHILE
A pan-African investment platform, Africa50, says the Republic of Mauritius has joined Nigeria, Ghana and others as the 30th shareholder of the platform.
A statement on Thursday by Fleur Tchibota, the platform’s Head of Communications Dept., quoted the Chief Executive Officer, Alain Ebobissé as saying by Mauritius ratification 24 other countries left would subscribe to the agreement.
Africa50 is an infrastructure investment platform that contributes to Africa’s growth by developing and investing in bankable projects, catalysing public sector capital, and mobilising private sector funding, with differentiated financial returns and impact.
Ebobissé said Dharam Dev Manraj Gosh, Mauritian Minister of Finance and Economic Development, signed the share subscription agreement on behalf of the government.
According to him, “Mauritius is a leader in infrastructure development and one of the most investor-friendly countries in Africa.
“Africa50 looks forward to a very fruitful collaboration. Africa50 now has four SADC member states as shareholders and looks forward to welcoming all other African countries to our platform as we collectively contribute to accelerating infrastructure delivery on the African continent,” Ebobissé.
He said Mauritius’ subscription followed that of Rwanda, which joined on July 19 during the General Shareholders Meeting in Nairobi.
He added that this marked a new milestone, with half of the continent’s 54 countries becoming shareholders of Africa50.
The other member countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, and Tunisia.
Other shareholders are the African Development Bank, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), and the Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM). The platform’s total committed capital has risen to over 850 million dollars.
