Nigerian billionaire Tony Elumelu and Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio are leading efforts to mobilise private-sector investment for a West African project pipeline expected to reach $15 billion, targeting infrastructure gaps and economic integration across the region.
- Nigerian billionaire Tony Elumelu and Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio are spearheading a $15 billion investment pipeline for infrastructure, energy, and industrial development across West Africa.
- Elumelu and the West Africa Integration and Investment Summit (WAIIS) have reviewed 170 project proposals, selecting 26 projects worth over $10 billion from more than ten countries.
- The initiative aims to mobilize both African and international capital, with support from institutions like Africa Finance Corporation, Afreximbank, UBA, and Ecobank.
- Key investment priorities include energy, trade and industrialization, strategic minerals, agribusiness, and digital transformation.
Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings and co-chair of the West Africa Integration and Investment Summit (WAIIS), is working with regional stakeholders to identify projects for presentation to lenders ahead of the summit’s inaugural gathering in Sierra Leone in November, Bloomberg reported.
Hosting Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio in Lagos ahead of the inaugural West Africa Integration and Investment Summit (WAIIS), Tony Elumelu convened the first in-person meeting of the summit’s Private Sector Advisory Board, bringing together business and financial leaders.
Discussions focused on energy, trade and industrialisation, strategic minerals, agribusiness and digital transformation. Elumelu reaffirmed his commitment to mobilising African and international capital, working with institutions including Africa Finance Corporation, Afreximbank, UBA and Ecobank to finance priority projects.
The initiative aims to mobilise capital for projects across more than 10 countries, with priorities spanning energy, trade and industrialisation, strategic minerals, agribusiness and digital transformation.
26 projects selected from 170 submissions
The investment pipeline has already progressed beyond an initial collection of proposals, with organisers selecting projects they consider suitable for financing discussions.
“We received 170 project submissions and have selected 26 real projects worth more than $10 billion from over ten countries,” Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, WAIIS special envoy, said in a statement emailed by the summit organisers, according to Bloomberg.
“We expect that portfolio to reach $15 billion or more,” Yumkella said, referring to the expected value of the project pipeline by the time of the November summit.
The initiative comes as West African economies face persistent infrastructure gaps that constrain trade, industrial capacity and cross-border economic integration. Attracting financing for viable projects remains a key challenge, particularly where investments require coordination among governments, development finance institutions and private-sector lenders.
The summit was initiated and convened by Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio to accelerate capital mobilisation for projects in the region’s priority sectors, Elumelu said.
The November meeting is expected to bring project sponsors and prospective financiers together to assess opportunities and advance investment discussions.
If successful, the initiative could provide a framework for turning regional development priorities into bankable projects, while directing more capital towards infrastructure and productive sectors across West Africa.