The current global financial system is ill-suited to Africa’s development needs and must adapt, urged Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) underway in Spain.
Speaking at a side event co-hosted by the UN’s five regional commissions, Mr. Gatete stressed that “innovative financing instruments are no longer optional—they are essential,” decrying a financial architecture that continues to restrict Africa’s access to affordable capital despite its investment potential and urgent development needs.
He emphasised that African countries are already piloting concrete solutions, but called for a global system overhaul to scale these efforts.
UNECA highlighted several initiatives underway across the continent to bridge the growing financing gap. Among the flagship projects is a debt-for-nature-and-industrialisation swap in the Democratic Republic of Congo, linking debt relief to the development of green value chains, including battery manufacturing and electric vehicles.
The organisation is also spearheading the Sustainable Debt Coalition, a coordinated platform to help African nations access climate finance under better terms and increase sustainable borrowing.
Additionally, a comprehensive African investment map is being developed to help de-risk opportunities and channel capital into high-impact, bankable projects.
Trust, a cornerstone to unlock private finance
“These are not theoretical ideas, but tools already being tested across the continent to align debt relief, climate action, and long-term investment,” said Gatete. He stressed the importance of national platforms to better coordinate priorities across ministries and align them with development strategies.
“Unlocking private finance is not just about good ideas. It requires trust, coherence, and credible institutions,” he added, calling for transparency to attract long-term investments.
His remarks are part of a broader initiative by the UN’s five regional commissions—UNECA, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP, and ESCWA—to spotlight regional solutions to global development financing challenges.
Their joint policy brief, The Road to Seville, outlines proposals across five strategic areas: domestic resource mobilisation, debt sustainability, global economic governance, international cooperation, and private financing.
ARD/ac/lb/as/APA