Economics
Sovereign Wealth Funds Can Ease Africa Risks, AfDB Head Says
- Countries must build fiscal, liquidity buffers against shocks
- Chinese market turmoil won't send Africa into economic crisis
President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina.
Photographer: Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
African nations, stung by plunging commodity prices, should set up more sovereign wealth funds to help withstand the next downturn, said Akinwumi Adesina, the African Development Bank’s new president.
The funds “will allow countries to have fiscal buffers and liquidity buffers to this kind of shock,” said Adesina, 55, who took charge of the lender on Tuesday. “It’s not the only one we’re going to see, there’s still going to be a lot of disquiet in the market going forward.”