Africa Moves to End ‘Bad Deals’ With Launch of Sovereign Negotiators Institute

African leaders and policy institutions have launched a new continental academy aimed at strengthening Africa’s negotiating power in billion-dollar international deals involving mining, debt, trade, climate finance and public health.

The new initiative, known as the Sankoree Institute of Global Negotiators (SIGN), was unveiled in Kigali, Rwanda, during the Africa CEO Forum by AfroChampions and the African School of Governance.

The agreement establishing the institute was signed by AfroChampions Co-Chair Paulo Gomes and ASG President Francis Gatare under the endorsement of prominent African leaders including Olusegun Obasanjo, John Dramani Mahama, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Hailemariam Desalegn.

The promoters of the initiative said SIGN is Africa’s first structured professional credentialling programme for sovereign negotiators — government officials and technical experts responsible for negotiating critical agreements with multinational corporations, creditors and foreign governments.

They noted that African countries frequently enter negotiations involving natural resources, debt restructuring and strategic investments without the level of institutional preparation and technical infrastructure available to their international counterparts.

According to the organisers, this imbalance has often resulted in weak contract terms, revenue losses, unfavourable stabilisation clauses and reduced policy flexibility for African governments.

To address the challenge, the institute will provide practical negotiation training through “Deal Labs” built around real-life negotiation scenarios. The programme will also deploy an artificial intelligence-driven platform known as the OCTagon Suite for precedent analysis, intelligence gathering and scenario modelling.

SIGN will operate from the Kigali campus of the African School of Governance and will award Associate and Fellow certifications to participants, with credentials subject to renewal every three years.

Organisers said the initiative is intended to create a continent-wide network of highly trained African negotiators capable of securing stronger outcomes in strategic sectors.

They added that the programme is part of the broader “Accra Reset” movement, a sovereignty-focused initiative led by African heads of state and former leaders advocating stronger economic and political agency for Africa and the Global South.

The Accra Reset initiative also includes programmes focused on health industrialisation, labour mobility, economic transformation and reforms to global governance systems.

ASG, co-founded by Paul Kagame and Hailemariam Desalegn, will provide academic and accreditation support for the programme, while AfroChampions will contribute negotiation case studies, continental partnerships and policy expertise.

The launch ceremony and press briefing were held at the Kigali Convention Centre.