Djibouti launches the Djibouti Sovereign Fund

The activities of the Djibouti Sovereign Fund (Fonds Souverain de Djibouti – FSD) were officially launched on Monday, September 14, following the implementation decrees promulgated on June 24, 2020, a special inter-ministerial committee was held under President Ismaël Omar Guelleh, in the presence of the Prime Minister, members of the government and the Fund’s administrators.
The Sovereign Fund is said to be an ambitious and innovative financial instrument aimed at turbocharging the country’s development.
“It will strive to modernize the country’s economy, to boost the growth of a competitive private sector and to enhance the development of the public productive sector, one of the essential instruments of this transformation,” reads a statement sent to Capital.
The creation of the FSD is a flagship measure of the “Vision 2035”, a long-term development strategy of Djibouti which aims to position the country as a leading commercial, logistics, port and digital hub.
Established in the form of a private limited company whose sole shareholder is and will remain the State of Djibouti, the Fund aims to “collect” national wealth to leverage Djibouti’s ability to invest quickly. The FSD will allow better control of projects while focusing on the national and strategic interests of the country.
“The FSD will play the role of a strong and committed partner sought by external and domestic investors. The Fund acts both for growth and for today’s employment while working on creating a diversified economy and building reserves for new generations. It is an intergenerational instrument that brings together the requirements of the short term with those of the long term,” the statement further reads.
The launching ceremony was attended by co-chairmen of SouthBridge, Donald Kaberuka and Lionel Zinsou, as well as William Ediko, partner, who advised Djibouti in setting up the Fund. Also present, Amir Jahanguiri, partner at law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, who advised the government for this project.
The holding of the inter-ministerial committee also formalize the appointment of the Managing Director of the FSD, the Senegalese Mamadou Mbaye. A seasoned professional, Mbaye is a graduate of École Polytechnique and École nationale de la statistique et de l’administration économique (ENSAE) in France. He was previously Vice-President of the Sovereign Fund for Strategic Investments of Senegal (Fonsis).