Faced with Africa’s chronic infrastructure financing gap, estimated at between USD 150 billion and USD 220 billion annually, institutional investors are now seeking to place African savings at the center of the continent’s development.
On the sidelines of the 61st Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank in Brazzaville, the Forum of Deposit and Consignment Funds highlighted a major challenge: building a new African financial architecture capable of financing the continent’s development through local resources. According to participants, Africa can no longer rely exclusively on external financing while governments face rising debt levels and a decline in traditional sources of funding. Hence the need to mobilize domestic resources, including dormant funds, public savings, and regulated deposits.
“The Tunisian Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations has three missions: supporting investment in strategic projects, supporting job-creating businesses, and stimulating the financial market. We intervene through equity investments, the mobilization of external resources, and co-financing under public-private partnerships.”
MAROUEN SABKHI, Financial Management Officer, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations – Tunisia
However, the challenge remains considerable. According to experts gathered in Brazzaville, African public development banks account for nearly 20% of development finance institutions worldwide, yet hold only about 1% of global financial assets. This limits their capacity to finance large-scale development projects. Another challenge raised was the low level of public confidence in financial institutions. In many African countries, a significant share of savings still circulates through the informal sector, particularly through rotating savings groups and other informal mechanisms, remaining outside structured economic channels. Representatives of deposit and consignment institutions from Niger, Gabon, Tunisia, and Morocco also pointed to regulatory constraints, the shortage of long-term funding, and the difficulties involved in making certain projects bankable.
“There are many savings groups operating outside national regulations. There are also numerous informal transfers taking place. These are challenges that the CDC must address. It is not necessarily that the population lacks financial literacy, but there is still a lack of trust in institutions.”
ANGELIQUE NZANG NZOGHE, Deputy Managing Director, Forum of Deposit and Consignment Funds – Gabon
Despite these obstacles, the forum emphasized the strategic importance of these institutions for the continent’s economic sovereignty. For participants, financing Africa with African savings has become a priority. This ambition is supported by the African Development Bank, which encourages governments to strengthen their national financing mechanisms in order to build more autonomous and sustainable growth.
