Financing development remains one of the major challenges facing Africa. In an international environment marked by geopolitical tensions, rising debt-servicing costs, and declining concessional financing, African countries are being called upon to rethink their strategies to sustainably support economic and social growth.
According to estimates by African financial institutions, the continent must mobilize more than 1.3 trillion dollars annually to meet its needs in infrastructure, energy, agriculture, healthcare, and education, in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Africa needs between 130 billion dollars and 170 billion dollars every year to meet its infrastructure needs, with an annual financing gap estimated at between 68 billion dollars and 108 billion dollars. The continent offers some of the world’s greatest investment opportunities in energy, logistics, digital infrastructure, food systems, and critical minerals. Yet Africa receives less than 1% of global foreign direct investment flows.
SIDI OULD TAH, President of the African Development Bank
Faced with declining external resources, many African countries are increasingly relying on their domestic capacities. Tax reforms, improved public governance, modernization of financial systems, and the development of capital markets are among the key measures being pursued to strengthen domestic resource mobilization. Experts also believe that Africa possesses significant internal financing potential. Through appropriate policies and better utilization of its resources, the continent could mobilize more than 1.4 trillion US dollars annually. This momentum is already visible through investments in infrastructure, energy, digital technologies, agriculture, and regional integration projects.
As you know, the continent is endowed with abundant natural resources, but the challenge is no longer simply to export them in their raw state, it is to process and transform them. This is the very purpose of large-scale private capital mobilization, as well as the development of risk-mitigation mechanisms that can facilitate major investments in Africa. This will enable the continent to mobilize more resources and transform African raw materials on African soil.
SIDI OULD TAH, President of the African Development Bank
Beyond financial resources, Africa also intends to leverage its many natural advantages. The continent holds a significant share of the world’s remaining arable land, substantial reserves of strategic minerals essential for the energy transition, and enormous renewable energy potential.
To mobilize more African savings and international capital in support of transformative projects, we must deepen our financial markets, strengthen our regional institutions, and develop guarantee instruments, risk-sharing mechanisms, and blended-finance solutions.
DENIS SASSOU-NGUESSO, President of the Republic of Congo
For many observers, the challenge now is to convert these resources into local value addition, job creation, and inclusive growth. Development financing is not only about mobilizing capital; it is also about the ability of African economies to generate greater wealth, strengthen their resilience, and accelerate their structural transformation.
