The former Prime Minister of Benin, Lionel Zinsou and the former Rwandan President of the AfDB, Donald Kaberuka, have taken the initiative of the investment bank SouthBridge to strengthen the integration of African economies. Even before it was formally incorporated, SouthBridge won its first term. Lionel Zinsou and Donald Kaberuka agree to think about a common project: a new pan-African investment bank. Established on the continent's financial scene, SouthBridge is a company that wants to act anywhere on the continent. Even before being formally constituted, SouthBridge is expected to advise french hotel group Accor on the formation of a $500 million African fund. "When you are President of the AfDB, you know everyone across the continent. This is also my case in French-speaking Africa," said Lionel Zinsou during a videoconference interview with Jeune Afrique at the end of last year from his Apartment in Paris. In December 2018, SouthBridge announced that it had recruited British-Nigerian Andrew Alli, a big name in African finance, to expand its staff. British-Nigerian Andrew Alli joined the SouthBridge staff just over two years ago. In 2020, the investment bank already had, however, about thirty mandates. This year, the investment bank is supporting the implementation of the Djibouti Sovereign Wealth Fund, which aims to reach €1.5 billion within ten years. SouthBridge is also advising the Togolese government on two operations: the creation of a public-private partnership, supported by a €200 million investment, with the Singaporean agro-industrial group Olam; and the sale to Olam, for €15.3 million, of a majority stake in the New Cotton Company of Togo. Today, SouthBridge has offices in Paris, Abidjan and Kigali, and plans to expand to London and Johannesburg. The investment bank has worked in Morocco, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania, among others in telecoms and energy. Beyond the continent's governments and corporations, the investment bank's clients include several multilateral development banks, including the West African Development Bank (BOAD) and the Trade and Development Bank (TDB), the development bank of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.