Abidjan, June 2026 – At the African Development Bank Group’s Annual Meetings, financial and private sector leaders urged greater coordination across Africa’s financial systems and practical mechanisms to mobilise capital at scale. The high-level event, “Leveraging Capital, Strengthening Agency: African Ownership and the Future of Development Finance,” was hosted in partnership with the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET).
The discussion focused on implementing the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD), endorsed under the Abidjan Consensus in April 2026. NAFAD aims to strengthen financial ecosystems, mobilise domestic capital, improve risk-sharing, and channel investment into job creation and structural transformation.
Panelists including Thierno-Habib Hann of Shelter Afrique Development Bank, Christian Kajeneri of MTN MoMo Congo, and Mini Kouame of Transat Management Company highlighted the need for African institutions to move beyond project-by-project financing toward platforms capable of deploying capital across sectors. Hann stressed the importance of leveraging African-owned development finance institutions to build stronger balance sheets and expand capital markets. Kouame emphasized connecting institutional investors such as pension funds and sovereign wealth funds with opportunities in real estate, energy, and infrastructure.
Kajeneri underscored the role of digital finance in expanding participation in formal financial systems. He noted MTN MoMo Congo’s reach to 62% of the adult population, while pointing out that limited interoperability between platforms remains a barrier to broader financial inclusion.
The session also reflected Africa’s growing ownership in development finance. During the ADF-17 replenishment in December 2025, 24 African countries pledged $180 million, contributing to a record $11 billion mobilised for the Fund, which supports 37 low-income countries. AfDB President Dr Sidi Ould Tah remarked: “Africa is no longer only a beneficiary of concessional finance. Africa is a co-investor in its own future.”
Closing the session, ACET President Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi emphasized that implementing NAFAD will require sustained coordination, leadership, and accountability across institutions, private sector actors, policymakers, and citizens.
This year’s meetings reinforced a clear message: Africa’s future development finance must be driven by African ownership, stronger institutions, and coordinated action to unlock the continent’s full economic potential.
