Participants intend to raise funds to address W’Africa’s issues.

Participants in the 2024 West Africa Deal Summit pledged to strengthen cooperation in raising funds to tackle the distinct socioeconomic issues facing the subregion.

Over 500 investors, business owners, government officials, and thought leaders attended the two-day event, which had as its theme “Actions to Deepen Catalytic Capital in West Africa” and was centred on creating creative financing channels.

At the conclusion of the summit, which was sponsored by the Impact Investors Foundation, Impact Investing Ghana, and impact investing task groups in Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Cote d’Ivoire, a joint statement was released outlining a number of priority actions.

Etemore Glover, the CEO of the Impact Investors Foundation, brought attention to the WADS participants’ shared dedication to stepping up efforts to create regional and national ecosystems that promote resilience and sustainable development.

As a community of impact investors, we are dedicated to creating regional and national ecosystems that promote resilience and sustainable growth. To fully realise West Africa’s potential, she stated, “we need creative financing methods, strong governance, regional cooperation, and catalyst capital.”

The joint statement highlights several key initiatives, such as enhancing regional cooperation and knowledge sharing, mobilising local resources, fostering innovation and teamwork for systemic change, bolstering good governance and MSMEs’ capacity-building, and advocating for data-driven design and execution.

CEO of Impact Investing Ghana, Amma Lartey; CEO of the Burkina Faso Impact Investing Taskforce, Yacouba Ouedraogo (PhD); Member of the Senegal Impact Investing Taskforce, Bowel Diop; and Board Vice Chair, Impact Investing Ghana, Mirabelle Moreaux, all signed the joint statement.

Explaining how Ghanaian pension fund managers have been able to diversify their assets in order to generate higher returns, Lartey of Impact Investing Ghana hinted that their Nigerian counterparts might find the blueprint useful.

“In order to generate returns that are favourable for the pension clients, we have been working on ways to open up the pension industry to investing in small and medium-sized businesses and other businesses,” she said.

PFAs were initially cautious because of their lack of experience, valuation difficulties, and poor understanding of asset classes, she pointed out, even though new rules governing Ghana’s pension funds permit up to 25% in alternative investments.

She noted, “They believed their clients were ignorant of alternative investments.”

But, she said, they have been able to redirect some of the pension funds into alternative ventures by working with important partners.