A Sovereign Wealth Infrastructure Platform For Africa

“Africa is not short of assets, ambition or projects,” says Mark Worrall, CEO of Estates and Infrastructure Exchange (EIX).

“What is often missing is a structure that converts those assets and opportunities into institutional-grade capital instruments without forcing countries to privatise strategic assets or take on unsustainable sovereign debt.”

Worrall is presenting EIX’s proposal to fill that gap – a sovereign wealth infrastructure platform for Africa.

In an exclusive interview with ConstructAfrica, the CEO notes the ongoing challenges facing the continent, with natural resources frequently exported without full domestic value capture, infrastructure delivery constrained by fiscal limits and development projects struggling to transition cleanly to long-term finance, all while institutional investors remain cautious due to execution and political risk.

“The constraint is not global capital supply; it is structure, risk mitigation and liquidity,” says Worrall.

“Many African nations hold substantial natural, energy, agricultural, logistics and infrastructure assets, but these remain under-monetised or constrained by traditional public financing models,” says Worrall. “At the same time, global institutional capital is actively looking for long-duration real asset exposure.

New Approach

“The [sovereign wealth infrastructure] platform is designed to close that gap. It is not a conventional sovereign wealth fund, nor a traditional project finance platform. It brings sovereign asset monetisation, regulated capital markets issuance, parametric risk transfer and secondary market liquidity into one structure. In that integrated form, we believe it is a new approach [to project funding].”

In essence, the platform is designed to:

• Monetise sovereign assets without privatisation;

• Mobilise domestic and international institutional capital;

• Reduce perceived sovereign and construction risk through parametric risk transfer

solutions;

• Create secondary market liquidity for infrastructure debt;

• Build a long-term, intergenerational capital engine.

EIX will form a central component of the platform’s architecture by providing a regulated venue for infrastructure and sovereign instruments; a structuring platform linking projects to institutional capital; and a framework for disciplined transition from development capital to long-term finance.

EIX was built to make infrastructure finance more liquid, transparent and investable, says the CEO. “Our role is to provide the capital markets architecture that allows infrastructure projects and sovereign-linked assets to be structured, issued, listed and traded in a disciplined way.”

The core proposition is that infrastructure should not remain trapped as an illiquid, bespoke financing problem. Rather, it can become a recognised asset class, supported by standardised documentation, regulated listing discipline, institutional disclosure and secondary market liquidity.

“For Africa, that means EIX can act as the bridge between sovereign infrastructure ambition and institutional capital execution,” says Worrall.

Targeted Funding

Many projects fail not because they are bad projects, but because they cannot transition cleanly from feasibility, engineering and development into institutional funding, Worrall notes. The proposed platform addresses that by creating a continuum.

“At the early stage, projects receive structured development capital linked to clear feasibility, engineering and governance milestones,” he says. “Once projects reach final investment decision, that development capital can be refinanced or absorbed into long-term infrastructure bonds with 15 to 30 year maturities.

“The gap it fills is the missing middle layer between project ambition and long-term institutional capital. It gives projects a route through development, risk mitigation, bond issuance and eventual liquidity.”

Asset Scope

The asset scope for the platform covers mineral and mining reserves; oil and gas assets; renewable energy potential; agricultural and forestry land; transport and logistics infrastructure; power and utility networks; telecommunications infrastructure; and strategic state-owned enterprises.

“The structure is designed specifically to avoid privatisation,” says Worrall. “Sovereign assets can be placed into a sovereign asset trust or equivalent national structure, forming the capital base of a sovereign wealth infrastructure platform. The assets remain nationally controlled. What is monetised is not ownership of the asset itself, but the cashflow, value or financing potential attached to it through structured capital instruments.

“That is a critical distinction. The platform is about converting sovereign wealth into investable capital instruments while preserving national control, community benefit and intergenerational asset integrity.”

Parametric Risk Transfer

On parametric risk transfer, Worrall highlights the importance of this tool for African projects.

“Parametric risk transfer is important because it allows specific risks to be identified, measured and transferred using objective triggers rather than subjective claims processes,” he says.

“For African projects, this matters because many investors remain cautious about development, construction, political, climate and liquidity [risks]. Parametric structures can provide rapid capital replacement or protection when defined events occur, which improves investor confidence and supports lower-risk financing.

“Regulated capital markets infrastructure is equally important. It brings transparency, disclosure, governance and tradability. Investors need to know not only that a project is attractive, but that the instrument they are buying is properly structured, visible, governed and capable of being traded or refinanced.

“The combination of parametric risk transfer and regulated market infrastructure is what moves infrastructure from being a fiscal burden into an investable asset class.”

Addressing Risks

As with any major infrastructure and capital markets platform, there are risks to operating this platform, Worrall says, with the main risks being governance, execution, political, project selection and market confidence.

“Those risks are addressed through layered discipline,” he says. “Projects must meet structural, financial, parametric and governance tests before progressing. There must be independent valuation, transparent reporting, audit, appropriate parliamentary or sovereign oversight and regulated exchange discipline.

“The platform only works if it is trusted. That means governance and transparency are not optional features. They are central to the model.”

However, if established properly, the platform could change the way African infrastructure is financed, Worrall notes.

“Instead of relying mainly on sovereign borrowing, donor finance or one-off PPP structures, countries would have a repeatable capital engine,” he says. “Development capital could be recycled. Infrastructure bonds could be listed and traded. Institutional investors could participate with more confidence. Sovereign assets could remain nationally owned while supporting long-term capital mobilisation.

“The broader opportunity is not simply to finance individual projects. It is to institutionalise how infrastructure is financed across Africa.

“That would allow countries to move from episodic project funding to a continuous sovereign capital ecosystem, supporting industrialisation, logistics, energy transition, climate resilience and long-term fiscal strength.”

About Mark Worrall

Mark Worrall is the CEO of Estates and Infrastructure Exchange (EIX), a regulated global platform revolutionising infrastructure project financing and trading. Under his leadership, EIX is helping to bridge the US$64 trillion infrastructure funding gap by offering institutional-grade investment opportunities and ensuring efficient financing solutions for project owners.

Worrall’s entrepreneurial journey includes founding Expand Consulting, later acquired by Boston Consulting Group, and Propel Capital Partners, focusing on corporate and project fundraising. His earlier career features senior roles at Thomson Reuters and Algorithmics, specialising in enterprise risk and European expansion.

Worrall is a member of the ConstructAfrica Industry Advisory Board (CIAB).

View his LinkedIn profile here.

Top photo: Construction site in Kenya ( © Erich Karnberger | Dreamstime.com)