Faced with a debt burden that is weighing heavily on their economies, African countries are making a strategic shift. The continent is exploring innovative financing mechanisms to regain its battered economic sovereignty. In Lomé, the African Union conference on debt set the tone for a new collective ambition.
Lomé, capital of Togo, hosted from the 12 to 14 May 2025, the first African Union Conference on Public Debt. The event brought together financial experts who drew up a detailed diagnosis of the situation and suggested innovative financing solutions. The results are worrying: in 2024, Africa’s public debt reached €1,860 billion. In less than a decade, the average debt-to-GDP ratio has risen from 44.4% to 66.7%. The International Monetary Fund reports that 22 African nations are over-indebted. Faced with this reality, the continent needs to reassess its budgetary priorities.
“The main idea is to manage debt in a way that ensures its viability, sustainability, cost and solidity. And of course, countries need to organize themselves so that they have a transparent entity to manage this debt, and institutions to control it and monitor its progress.”
Mohamed Boussaïd, Former Minister of Economy and Finance – Morocco
Today, less than 40% of African countries publish detailed reports on their debt. This lack of transparency exacerbates the risk imposed by international rating agencies. Faced with this situation, the African Union is suggesting a sovereign response: a Pan-African Credit Rating Agency, designed to re-establish a fairer assessment of African economies.
“At the African level, it’s important to work together, because we can see that the challenge is very great in terms of supporting countries. It’s also important that we get together to help them better, because we don’t have all the human and financial resources to act. But if we pool our human resources and financial resources together, we can be more effective and duplicate the efficiencies in terms of our support for the countries that need it. »
Rodolphe Bance, Head of Economic and Social Governance – Burkina Faso
In 2024, African countries will have spent almost 90 billion dollars on debt servicing, almost double the foreign aid received and more than the combined annual health and education budgets of many countries. The continent also has an infrastructure deficit estimated at between 130 and 170 billion dollars a year, while access to long-term financing remains out of reach. Faced with this, the African Union is calling for an equitable reallocation of Special Drawing Rights, over 85% of which remain concentrated in G20 countries.
“I’m convinced that we should start with the African Monetary Fund, because it will have a direct impact on macroeconomic stability. We think that once we’ve sorted this out, once we’ve sorted out all these instabilities, whether it’s debt or whatever, we can look at moving on to investment, which indicates that we need investment in Africa. »
Joy Ntare, Deputy Managing Director of TDB – Rwanda
In the short term, African nations are committed to improving their internal practices by combating illegal financial flows, rigorous budget management and better mobilisation of their own resources. In the long term, the African Monetary Institute project, two decades in the making, is back on the agenda. The aim is to build a continental financial structure capable of supporting investment without recourse to external markets.
