06/06/2022

FONDS SOUVERAIN DE DJIBOUTI AND KASADA: TOWARDS A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP TO STRENGTHEN INVESTMENT IN HOTEL INFRASTRUCTURE IN DJIBOUTI

The Chief Executive Officer of the Fonds Souverain de Djibouti, Dr. Slim Feriani, and his Chief Investment Officer “CIO,” Mr. Gbarssin, received on May 24, 2022, the Chief Executive Officer and CIO of Kasada Capital Management.

Based in South Africa, Kasada Capital Management is an independent investment platform dedicated to the hospitality industry in sub-Saharan Africa and launched in 2018 with the support of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, and Accor, a global hospitality leader of 40 hotel brands. Kasada Capital Management’s investment strategy covers all segments of the hotel industry, from economy to luxury. It targets both Brownfield (to be built) and Greenfield (takeovers and renovations of existing hotels) hotel projects.

This important visit of the CEO and CIO of Kasada Capital Management, Mr. David Damiba, is part of the study of a collaboration between the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Djibouti (FSD) and Kasada in the field of hotel and tourism in Djibouti.

The CEO of the FSD, Dr. Slim FERIANI, has included several activities in the agenda of the visit of Mr. Damiba. He met His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Warsama DIRIEH, Minister of Trade and Tourism, and his closest collaborators, including the Secretary General of the Ministry and the Director of the National Office of Tourism of Djibouti (ONTD).

The delegation also met during this mission His Excellency the Governor of the Central Bank, the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic, senior officials at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the President of the Authority of Ports and Free Zones of Djibouti (APZFD), the President of the Regional Council of Tadjourah and the Director General of Air Djibouti; and finally actors of the private sector active in the tourism sector in Djibouti.

1.5 BILLION DOLLARS TO BE INVESTED IN THE TOURISM AND HOTEL SECTOR IN AFRICA

With an impressive 1.5 billion dollars to invest in the tourism and hotel sector in Africa, the Kasada Group aims, in the next three (3) years, to deploy all this capital in African countries by investing in Brownfields and Greenfields. To develop about twenty hotels in ten African countries in the next eighteen (18) months to reach about five thousand (5000) rooms, thus generating several thousand jobs.

During his visit, Mr. Damiba could appreciate and noted the attractiveness and the considerable potential of the tourism sector in Djibouti, which is a significant engine of growth and socio-economic development. The CIO of Kasada Capital Management has expressed a strong interest in investing in the territory by implementing several hotel infrastructure projects.

AN INVESTMENT OF 50 TO 100 MILLION DOLLARS WOULD GENERATE 1.5% TO 3% OF DIRECT GROWTH IN DJIBOUTI’S GDP.

The Kasada Group and the FSD are studying a potential investment of 50 to 100 million dollars in the tourism sector in Djibouti, which would quickly generate 1.5% to 3% of direct GDP growth and the creation and training of 500 to 1000 direct jobs, and a large number of indirect jobs including in the handicraft sector.

The group’s expansion strategy targets key cities in sub-Saharan Africa, such as Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon, where it currently has a presence.

Kasada’s entry into the Djibouti hotel market would strengthen the brand’s footprint in this region of the Horn of Africa, which offers solid growth opportunities.

As part of its participation in Djibouti’s economic development and diversification, the FSD’s role is to attract leading international partners in strategic sectors, such as the tourism sector, identified through joint ventures or economic alliances. Tourism is at the heart of the 2035 vision of His Excellency, the President of the Republic Ismail Omar Guelleh, which aims to improve the employability of Djiboutians and ensure inclusive and sustainable prosperity.

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FONDS SOUVERAIN DE DJIBOUTI ET KASADA : VERS UN PARTENARIAT STRATÉGIQUE POUR RENFORCER L’INVESTISSEMENT DANS LES INFRASTRUCTURES HÔTELIÈRES À DJIBOUTI | LA NATION