African finance ministers push for bankable projects, private capital at AfDB Investment Forum

African finance ministers attending the 2025 Africa Investment Forum (AIF) have called for a decisive shift from highlighting potential opportunities to delivering execution-ready, investment-grade projects.

Their message was clear: the continent’s transformation must be driven by private capital, not aid.

Speaking during the Ministerial Dialogue on Accelerating Private Investment Through Conducive Enabling Environments, ministers from Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mauritania, Morocco and Zambia outlined the reforms required to strengthen investor confidence, improve regulatory frameworks and build resilient business environments capable of attracting long-term funding.

Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Economic Planning and Development, Nialé Kaba, said Africa’s biggest obstacle remains project readiness.

“Africa’s problem is that opportunities and projects are not mature,” she said. She highlighted Côte d’Ivoire’s progress, including simplified investment codes and single-window systems that have helped lift private investment from 12% of GDP in 2020 to 20% today.

Zambia’s Minister of Finance and National Planning Situmbeko Musokotwane said the country is emerging from its debt crisis, supported by an improved credit rating.

Over the past three years, Zambia has secured nearly $2 billion in public-private partnerships and attracted more than $7 billion in new mining investment. He noted that streamlining project approvals to under 45 days has helped unlock billions in private energy investments.

Musokotwane also spotlighted the privately financed Lobito Corridor, set to become Africa’s first east-west transcontinental rail link, which will connect Zambia and the DRC to Angola’s Atlantic ports.

Morocco’s Economy and Finance Minister Nadia Fettah stressed that investors are no longer looking for potential, but for “ready projects delivered with speed and strong execution capacity.”

She urged African governments to maintain a year-round pipeline of regional projects and argued that pooling resources across borders is essential for large-scale developments in rail, aviation and data infrastructure.

Mauritania’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Development, Abdullah Suleiman Sheikh Sidiya, said Africa is increasingly seen as an investment destination rather than an aid-dependent continent.

“Africa is becoming a sought-after destination—not only for cooperation but increasingly for investment,” he said.

Guinea’s Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Ismael Nabe, underscored the role of strong project preparation in lowering investment risk. He highlighted Guinea’s UK-Export Finance-backed Administrative City as a model of replicable development, inspired by similar projects in Benin.

Nabe described the Africa Investment Forum as a “compass” for guiding co-financing and innovation. Successful initiatives in one country, he said, can be adapted across the region through blended finance tools and partnerships with institutions such as the African Development Bank Group and Middle Eastern sovereign funds.

Ethiopian Finance Minister Ahmed Shide detailed sweeping reforms underway in Ethiopia, including foreign exchange liberalisation, customs reforms and the creation of a securities exchange.

To finance major national projects, such as the Bishoftu International Airport, Ethiopia is adopting new funding models including securitisation, blended finance and credit enhancement, positioning itself as an emerging aviation hub.

The packed ministerial forum delivered a unified message: Africa’s development trajectory is firmly pivoting toward private sector investment.

Real progress, ministers agreed, will depend on governments delivering mature, bankable projects supported by strong reforms and deeper regional integration—unlocking the continent’s vast economic potential.

BUSINESS REPORT