A Qatari sheikh has been jetting across Africa this month, meeting presidents and pledging investments that dwarf some of the target countries’ GDPs. In Zimbabwe, Sheikh Mansour Bin Jabor Bin Jassim Al Thani’s Al Mansour Holdings promised $19 billion for projects spanning energy, agriculture, livestock, food security, tourism, housing, cybersecurity, and airports. Earlier pledges were made in Botswana, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambia.
The visits carried all the trappings of a VIP: He arrived on a $90 million Airbus A319 jet, held bilaterals with heads of state, and followed those up with press briefings. Local media reported the deals — Reuters even picked up the one in Botswana — but Qatar’s official agency has no mention of the trip or the company, which has no website.
Al Mansour Holdings’ chairman, who owns an architectural firm in Australia according to LinkedIn, told Semafor: “what you are seeing in Africa now is the result of three years of hard work and commitment to a real vision.” Qatar’s government communications office didn’t respond to a request for comment.
(Updates with comment from the company’s chairman in third paragraph).