Fonds Souverain d'Investissements Strategiques

Fonds Souverain d'Investissements Strategiques · Senegal · Africa · Founded 2012 · Strategic development fund · IFSWF full member

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Focus

Fonds Souverain d'Investissements Strategiques: what it invests in

Agriculture and food securityRenewables and climateInfrastructure and utilitiesHealthcare and life sciencesTransport and logisticsMining and metals

Private equityInfrastructurePrivate creditStrategic state holdings

Geography Mainly domestic

Scale

Fonds Souverain d'Investissements Strategiques: how big it is, and on what basis

Not disclosed Estimate

Published estimateAs of 2025-11-01

Transparency

Fonds Souverain d'Investissements Strategiques: what it publishes

5.5 of 10 Band 3 of 5

Published 4 · Partly 3 · Not published 3

Our 10 item score. It measures what is public, not how well a fund is run.

PE fund programmeS5: FCFA 85B (four funds, 2026); As of 2026-10-02
Dakar BRT stakeS3: 30%; As of 2025-11-01
OYASS paid-in capitalS3: FCFA 9.3B (June 2023); As of 2025-11-01
Unrealised portfolio gainS3: 31.5% (FCFA 8.3B, 2024); As of 2025-11-01
Operating sinceS1: 2014
Transparency scoreS6: 5.5 of 10

At a glance. FONSIS is Senegal's strategic sovereign fund, set up in 2012 and active since 2014. It invests alongside private partners in projects and funds of funds across agribusiness, water and energy, health and infrastructure, and it manages the intergenerational fund for oil and gas revenue. Its best known stake is 30 percent of the electric Dakar BRT operator. S1 S3

Key points

Four macro-sectors: agribusiness, water and energy, health and pharma, and infrastructure and transport. S3
Three business lines: funds of funds, project financing and structuring development projects. S4
Four private equity funds for Senegalese companies total FCFA 85 billion, with a goal to double in five years. S5
Manages the Fonds Intergenerationnel, which gets at least 10 percent of hydrocarbon revenue. S3
Every project has private partners; local content clauses cover skills, jobs and local takeover. S5
2024 valuation work showed an unrealised gain of 31.5 percent, FCFA 8.3 billion, on the portfolio reviewed. S3
Full IFSWF member with a 2025 Santiago Principles self-assessment. S2 S6

Interesting facts

The Dakar BRT runs 121 fully electric buses and carries more than 300,000 people a day. S3
OYASS Capital, its largest participation, is run by SEAF, chosen by international tender. S3
It is building a national gold counter with Somisen SA. S5

Mandate and goals

FONSIS carries out government economic and social policy as an investor that complements private capital, backing local and foreign direct investment that creates wealth and jobs. Each investment should have positive social, economic and environmental effects. S6 S7

Draw private capital into strategic projects. S1
Manage State strategic assets for long-term value. S1
Grow Senegalese SMEs through funds of funds. S5

How it invests

Industries	Agriculture and food security, Renewables and climate, Infrastructure and utilities, Healthcare and life sciences, Transport and logistics, Mining and metals, Consumer and retail S3 S5
Asset classes	Private equity, Infrastructure, Private credit, Strategic state holdings S3
Stages	Venture, Growth, Infrastructure, Credit S3
Geography	Mainly domestic. All four PE funds target Senegalese companies S5
Direct / through funds / co-invest	Yes / Yes / Yes S3
Ticket size	No standard ticket is published. S3
External managers	SEAF manages OYASS Capital; partner banks co-run the Fonds Islamique de Relance S3
Co-investment programme	Co-invests with public and private partners in project vehicles and funds S3

Past investments

Year	Investment	Type	Sector	Stage	Amount	Stake
2022	Dakar Mobilite (Dakar BRT). 15-year bus rapid transit concession with Meridiam (70 percent); service began May 2024. S3	Joint venture or partnership	Transport and logistics	Infrastructure	Not published	30%
2023	OYASS Capital. SME fund targeting FCFA 50B with the State, KfW and the World Bank; managed by SEAF. S3	Fund commitment	Multi-sector	Growth	FCFA 9.3B paid in
2020	WE! Fund I. Women entrepreneur fund with UNCDF (33 percent); FCFA 851M invested in four firms. S3	Fund commitment	Multi-sector	Venture	FCFA 1B pilot
2024	WE! Fund II. With the African Development Bank; aims for more than FCFA 6B in 20 firms by 2027. S3	Fund commitment	Multi-sector	Venture	FCFA 10B target
2024	Fonds Islamique de Relance. FCFA 15B debt and FCFA 5B equity windows; FCFA 1.5B lent to 33 firms first. S3	Fund commitment	Multi-sector	Credit	FCFA 20B
2026	Twelve SME agreements. Five WE! Fund and seven Fonds Islamique deals in health, construction, agrifood and textiles. S5	Fund commitment	Consumer and retail	Growth	FCFA 2.1B
2024	Aristide Le Dantec hospital rebuild. 660-bed national hospital; FONSIS acts as owner representative for the Health Ministry. S3	Direct investment	Healthcare and life sciences	Infrastructure	FCFA 92B project
2024	Tivaouane hospital. New hospital project with FONSIS as owner representative. S3	Direct investment	Healthcare and life sciences	Infrastructure	FCFA 46B project
2024	Renewable energy fund (REEF). Structured with PwC; African Climate Foundation grants of USD 250,000 in total. S3	New company or platform	Renewables and climate	Infrastructure	EUR 50M target
2026	National gold counter. Being developed with Somisen SA. S5	Joint venture or partnership	Mining and metals	Not stated	Not published

Case studies

Dakar BRT S3

What: Took 30 percent of Dakar Mobilite, with Meridiam holding 70 percent, under a 15-year concession signed with CETUD in March 2022.
When: 2022 to 2024
Size: 121 electric buses, 23 stations
Why: Show that a sovereign minority stake can bring a global infrastructure investor into urban transport.
Outcome: Service started 14 May 2024 across 14 communes, carrying more than 300,000 people a day.

OYASS Capital S3

What: Sponsored an SME fund with a FCFA 50B target, backed by the State, KfW and the World Bank and managed by SEAF.
When: June 2023
Size: FCFA 9.3B paid in
Why: Reach small and mid-sized firms beyond Dakar.
Outcome: Pipeline of 35 firms in 13 sectors; 30 percent outside Dakar and 33 percent women-led or owned.

WE! Fund S3

What: Started a women entrepreneurs fund as a FCFA 1B pilot with UNCDF, then a FCFA 10B second fund with the African Development Bank.
When: 2020 onward
Size: FCFA 10B target
Why: Close the funding gap for women-led businesses.
Outcome: Fund I invested FCFA 851M in four firms; Fund II made two investments of FCFA 750M in early 2024.

Investment process

A Board under OHADA company law, with ESG, Investment and Audit and Compliance committees, approves investments. The President appoints the Board, Chairman and Director General by decree; the Director General serves five years, renewable once. S8 S6 S3

Committee	Role
Investment Committee	Reviews investments S8
ESG Committee	Environmental and social standards S8
Audit and Compliance Committee	Controls and compliance S8

Identify a strategic project or fund with private partners. S4
Structure the deal with local content clauses. S5
Board and committees approve. S8

How to approach: No unsolicited channel is stated; contact pages are on the fund website. SMEs apply through the WE! Fund or Fonds Islamique de Relance. S1

Size and returns

Headline size: Not disclosed (Published estimate, as of 2025-11-01) S3
Private equity funds managed or sponsored: FCFA 85B (Committed or authorised capital, as of 2026-10-02) S5
Returns: the fund does not publish a return figure.

Leadership

Name	Title	Since
Babacar Gning	Director General S3	2024-05-02
Cheikh Sidiya El Moctar Beye	Chairman of the Board S3	Not published

Governance and transparency

Legal basis: Law 2012-34 of 31 December 2012; OHADA company law S1 S6
Oversight: Board of Directors appointed by presidential decree S6
Santiago Principles: 2025 self-assessment published by the IFSWF S6
Supports the One Planet Sovereign Wealth Funds initiative. S1

Transparency score: 5.5 of 10 (band 3 of 5). Our own 10-item rubric; see the methodology page.

Published: geographic or sector split, holdings or deal list, governance and mandate documents, named leadership. S3 S4 S6 S8 S9
Partly published: annual return, asset allocation, regular reporting schedule. S3
Not published: total assets, long-term returns, audited financial statements. S6

History

Date	Event
2012-12-31	Law 2012-34 creates the fund. S1
2013-07	FONSIS S.A. formed. S1
2014	Operations begin. S1
2020	WE! Fund pilot. S3
2022-03-21	Dakar BRT concession signed. S3
2022-04-19	Law creates the intergenerational fund. S3
2023-06	OYASS Capital paid in. S3
2024-05-02	Babacar Gning named Director General. S3
2024-05-14	BRT service starts. S3
2026	FCFA 85B PE programme presented. S5

For family offices

FONSIS co-invests through project vehicles and funds with development banks and global firms such as Meridiam and SEAF; it does not state that it takes unsolicited proposals. S3

Minority stakes in concession companies alongside an operator. S3
Anchor stakes in SME funds with outside managers. S3

Reports

Management Report 2024 (French): https://www.fonsis.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/RAPPORT-DE-GESTION-2024-4-web-2.pdf S3
Santiago Principles self-assessment 2025: https://www.ifswf.org/assessment/fonsis-2025 S6

Common questions

What is FONSIS?

Senegal's strategic sovereign investment fund, created by Law 2012-34 and operating since 2014. S1

Who runs it?

Babacar Gning, Director General since May 2024. S3

How big is it?

It publishes no fund-level total; its four private equity funds total FCFA 85 billion. S3

Is it an IFSWF member?

Yes, a full member. S2

What does it hold?

Stakes such as 30 percent of the Dakar BRT operator, plus funds such as OYASS Capital and WE! Fund. S3

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All sovereign wealth funds in Africa · All strategic development funds · All funds in Senegal

Sources

Disclaimer

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