Date published: November 8,2025.
On October 15, 2025, on the sidelines of the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings, the Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AAMFI), the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), ONE Campaign, the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), and Development Reimagined (DR) convened a high-level panel discussion titled “Cutting the Cost of Capital: Financing Africa’s Infrastructure.” The event gathered policymakers, financial and development experts to address one of the continent’s most pressing challenges: the exorbitantly high borrowing costs that constrain infrastructure development across Africa.
Despite Africa financing nearly half of its own infrastructure through sovereign resources and regional development banks, international credit rating methodologies continue to drive up capital costs. The African Development Bank estimates Africa faces a US$402.2 billion annual financing gap to achieve its 2030 structural transformation goals, with the majority needed for road and energy projects. This gap is widened significantly by the Big Three credit rating agencies, whose limited continental presence and questionable methodologies result in ratings that fail to reflect African economic realities. Research shows that negative perceptions alone cost Africa USD 4.2 billion annually in additional debt interest payments.
The discussion examined how African-led solutions can bridge this financing divide. Panelists explored practical approaches to strengthen regional financing mechanisms, challenge biased risk assessments, and shift the narrative from viewing Africa as “high risk” to “high opportunity”.
Ms. Pamla Gopaul, Senior Programme Officer & Data Analyst and African Policy Bridge Tank (APBT) Lead at the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) provided the opening remarks, emphasizing the importance of changing the risk perception of African countries and their critical role in shaping global development narratives.
Mr. Manuel Moses, CEO of the African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI) delivered the keynote speech. Mr. Moses highlighted how biased credit rating methodologies fundamentally increase the cost of capital for African countries, and called for urgent, innovative solutions to address this challenge.
The thought-provoking panel discussion was moderated by Ms. Hannah Ryder, Chief Executive Officer of Development Reimgained. The panel featured a great lineup of speakers, including Mr. Babajide Sodipo, Acting Executive Secretary, Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AAMFI), and Dr. Lina Benabdallah, Associate Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Wake Forest University.
The panelists shared complementary perspectives on Africa’s financing challenges, emphasizing the gaps in the global financial system, the critical role of African multilateral financial institutions in mobilizing capital, and the hurdles in cross-border infrastructure coordination. The discussion highlighted the importance of strengthening African-led institutions, improving enforcement and transparency mechanisms, and aligning political incentives with long-term regional priorities.
The key themes discussed included:
- Enhancing the Role of African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AMFIs): Strengthening the capacity of AMFIs to aggregate African capital and channel investment from international partners into priority areas, including infrastructure.
- Addressing Systemic Gaps in Global Finance: Reforming elements of the global financial architecture that disadvantage African countries, to reduce borrowing costs and expand financing options.
- Improving Governance and Accountability: Developing robust enforcement and transparency mechanisms to ensure countries follow through on cross-border infrastructure projects and maintain effective coordination.
- Aligning Political Incentives with Long-Term Projects: Overcoming the preference for short-term, visible projects by designing frameworks that encourage investment in large-scale, cross-border infrastructure critical for continental development.
H.E. Tarek Ben Youssef, Charge D’Affairs at the AU Mission to the United States, gave the closing remarks, stressing the urgency of recalibrating how Africa is seen, rated, and financed, and calling for concrete actions to correct these inaccuracies to unlock the full potential of investment in African infrastructure and advance the goals of Agenda 2063.
The event underscored the pivotal role of Africa-led solutions in addressing the continent’s financing challenges, particularly in infrastructure, and called for systemic change in the biased global financial system to unlock Africa’s full potential. By strengthening institutional capacity and enhancing cross-border coordination mechanisms, African countries can significantly enhance their impact on advancing global development.
Watch the full event here.:
