Old Mutual Investment Group (OMIG) has announced its plans to expand its commercial real estate and agriculture footprints in Africa through a partnership with Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund.

Diane Radley, OMIG CEO, said that the partnership with NSIA is a critical step in the development of OMIG’s commercial real estate and agriculture strategies in Africa.

“As the largest manager of real assets in Africa, we have a deep belief in the opportunities in agricultural and real estate investment across the African continent. Our dealings with agriculture as an asset class has shown that it has already gained huge momentum globally, but is still in its infancy in Africa. This presents a significant investment opportunity for both local and international investors,” she said.

The partnership will allow for the establishment of two separate investment vehicles, one focusing on agriculture investment and one on real estate investment in the region.

Under the real estate agreement, the objective is to invest $500m in commercial, retail and hospitality assets.

The Fund is expected to have initial commitments of up to $100m each from NSIA and Old Mutual and is targeting a total commitment size of $500m with deal origination and execution to be undertaken jointly by both parties.

For that of agriculture, both parties will make commitments for an initial fund size of $50m ahead of the targeted fund size of up to $200m, with deal origination and execution to be undertaken jointly by both parties.

The aim of the agreement is to improve Nigeria’s food security and promote rural economic development to capitalize on the growing opportunities that the Nigerian agricultural industry provides.

The deal comes a few months after OMIG announced an increase in its overall effective equity stake in African agriculture investment group, UFF African Agri Investments, to 49%, a partnership which strengthens the longtime relationship between the two companies, with investment opportunities of up to $500m into African farmland envisaged over the next five years.

Uche Orji, Managing Director & CEO, NSIA, said: “We believe that the property development and agriculture sectors offer considerable potential for economic growth in Nigeria. Our commitment in these sector is underpinned by the economic imperatives of urbanization, population growth and enhancement of liquidity for the sector.”

“The real estate vehicle, once created alongside the Agri-Fund will be configured to address some of these imperatives. The NSIA will continue to serve as a catalyst for private sector involvement in key sectors of the economy by exploring partnerships with credible entities such as Old Mutual Investment Group and UFF Agri-Fund,” he added.

NSIA and OMIG’s commitment in the property and agriculture sector is underpinned by a shared vision of the significant opportunities presented by African real estate and agriculture investment, a vital economic driver in Africa given a number of socio-economic factors, including population growth, poverty and unemployment.

Kemi Adeosun, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, said this groundbreaking announcement between the NSIA and OMIG marks a critical milestone towards delivering on NSIA’s broader mandate to invest in key sectors of the Nigerian economy.

“It is consistent with the Administration’s concerted efforts to diversify the Nigerian economy away from oil and attract investments into other core sectors which can stimulate sustainable growth,” he added.