The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Mr. Sidi Ould Tah, has called for urgent reforms to unlock Africa’s estimated four trillion dollars in domestic savings.
Speaking at the official opening of the 2026 AfDB Annual Meetings in Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, Tah said that Africa’s ambitions had outgrown existing financial structures, in spite the continent holding vast domestic financial resources.
According to him, Africa’s challenge is not a lack of capital, but the inability to channel available resources into productive investment.
Tah stated that Africa has continued to face a large development financing gap, in spite strong economic resilience and growth potential.
He said that savings held in banks, pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds remained largely underutilised.
The AfDB president stressed that fragmented financial systems were limiting Africa’s ability to mobilise long-term investment capital.
He called for stronger financial markets, better coordination among institutions and improved investment instruments.
According to Tah, Africa must strengthen risk-sharing mechanisms to attract private investors and reduce the cost of capital and that development finance institutions must play a catalytic role in mobilising private capital rather than relying on sovereign lending alone.
He explained that every dollar of public finance should be designed to crowd in multiple dollars of private investment, emphasizing the need for stronger project pipelines to ensure that investments were bankable and ready for financing.
He added that Africa’s financial sovereignty would be achieved through stronger institutions, deeper markets and better policy coordination.
The AfDB president urged African countries to accelerate reforms aimed at building an integrated financial architecture capable of supporting transformation.
GIK/APA