From our Special Envoy in Luanda, Daniel Djagoué
The 3rd African Summit on Infrastructure Financing, opened on October 28, 2025 in Luanda, Angola, aims to be a decisive turning point. Far from past promises, Africa asserts its desire to finance and govern its own projects.
“We are not here to talk about numbers, but to build a connected, modern, and resilient Africa,” said Angolan President João Lourenço, host of the summit and current President of the African Union.
Facing a financing deficit estimated between 130 and 170 billion dollars per year, the Angolan head of state emphasized that infrastructure is not just a matter of investment: it is at the heart of the continent’s sovereignty and competitiveness, he said.
His speech was followed by that of the Togolese President, who called for a “mobilization of African capital” to finance infrastructure. “We must build a model in which African capital – public, private, institutional – becomes the foundation of our development,” declared Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé.
The Togolese President stressed the need for states to strengthen trust between public actors and investors on the continent, stating that “Africa already has the necessary resources; they must now be effectively channelled towards structuring projects.”
This intervention, applauded by the delegations, set the tone for a summit focused on African responsibility in transforming its economies.
The Director-General of AUDA-NEPAD, Nardos Bekele-Thomas, then delivered a straightforward message: “Infrastructure financing is no longer an option: it is existential.”
The continent loses up to 2% of GDP per year due to inadequate infrastructure, she indicated. And she announced the creation of a $1.5 billion fund dedicated to cross-border projects, including $100 million for project preparation: “We must move from diagnosis to delivery,” she stressed, emphasizing that only pan-African coordination will unlock the billions needed.
On his part, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, President of the African Union Commission, framed the debate in political terms: “Infrastructure financing is not a technical issue, it is deeply strategic. Our unity depends on our ability to build and finance our own networks.”
The Djiboutian diplomat pleaded for a Continental Pact for the financing of African infrastructure, articulated around three axes: mobilizing African resources and sovereign funds; valorizing the continental private sector; and increasing access to global climate financing.
The summit’s objective is clear: to accelerate the implementation of the PIDA-PAP 2 (2021-2030), a portfolio of 69 strategic projects representing $160 billion, the backbone of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
For many observers, Luanda 2025 symbolizes a shift: that of an Africa that no longer wants to depend on external financing, but that structures its own sovereign finance.
“When Africa is clear, capital comes,” summarized Nardos Bekele-Thomas, quoted by several media outlets.
In the summit’s working rooms, the “deal rooms” follow one after the other: railway corridors, energy interconnections, digital infrastructures. Behind each project, the same conviction: Africa can no longer wait.
