African Development Bank (AfDB) President Sidi Ould Tah has called on African governments and financial institutions to significantly accelerate the mobilisation of private capital to address the continent’s growing infrastructure and development financing shortfall.
Speaking at the opening of the 2025 Africa Investment Forum (AIF) in Rabat, which commenced on 26 November under the theme “Bridging the Gap: Mobilising Private Capital to Unlock Africa’s Full Potential,” Ould Tah outlined the AfDB Group’s four strategic priorities for the period ahead.
He stressed the urgent need for large-scale equity mobilisation supported by innovative financial instruments designed to multiply each dollar invested by ten, with the aim of drawing far greater private sector participation into Africa’s development agenda.
He also highlighted the Bank’s plans to overhaul Africa’s financial framework through a three-tier architecture, national, regional, and continental, to improve coordination among financial institutions and unlock more capital for development.
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Ould Tah noted that transforming Africa’s demographic expansion into economic power will require deeper financial inclusion, stronger entrepreneurial support, and significant investment in skills development for women and young people, especially in STEM fields and the digital economy.
He emphasized the importance of resilient infrastructure and increasing local value addition to natural resources through targeted investments in energy, logistics, digital infrastructure, and industrial production.
He cautioned that with Africa expected to make up a quarter of the global population by 2050, the continent’s demographic path must be converted into economic strength through structural transformation and substantial investment to prevent it from becoming an economic burden.
Morocco’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, reaffirmed the country’s commitment to expanding private investment and strengthening public–private partnership ecosystems.
She stated that Morocco aims to raise the share of private investment to two-thirds of total national investment by 2035, supported by regulatory reforms, improved infrastructure, and industrial growth.
She also noted that Africa needs an estimated $1.3 trillion annually to achieve its development ambitions, underscoring the necessity of innovative financing mechanisms and deeper public–private collaboration.
The 2025 AIF convenes governments, development finance institutions, and global investors to accelerate transformative projects across energy, transportation, logistics, and digital sectors.
Established in 2018 by the AfDB and its partners, the AIF serves as a coordinated platform to mobilise private capital for high-impact projects on the continent.
Africa requires between $130 billion and $170 billion annually for infrastructure alone, far exceeding what public budgets can provide.
Since its launch, the Forum has generated more than $225 billion in investment interest, with $32 billion in transactions reaching financial close.
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Image Credit: African Business
