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Africa Strengthens Foundations to Lead Its Own Financing as Domestic Pools Surpass External Flows, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) Report Shows

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Africa

AFC’s State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2026 argues that Africa’s next development breakthrough will come from deploying domestic capital into infrastructure, industry and integrated systems at scale

NAIROBI, Kenya, April 23, 2026/APO Group/ —

  • Africa’s development challenge is increasingly shifting from capital raising to productive capital deployment in infrastructure and industry, according to AFC’s State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2026
  • Non-bank domestic capital pools now exceed US$2 trillion, surpassing ~US$1.7 trillion in cumulative external flows to Africa (2014–2024)
  • Official development assistance fell from US$83.8 billion in 2020 to US$73.5 billion in 2023, with further declines expected for 2025–2026
  • Sovereign issuance dropped from over US$29 billion in 2018 to US$4–6 billion annually in 2022–2023, with only limited recovery through 2024–2025
  • Domestic pension and insurance assets crossed US$1 trillion for first time
  • Central bank reserves at US$530 billion in 2025, from US$480 billion in 2024
  • Gold now represents ~17% of reserves, up from less than 10% in 2022–2023
  • Africa’s biggest infrastructure opportunity lies in integrated systems—connecting energy, transport, industry and digital layers into demand‑anchored ecosystems that improve bankability and enable scale

 

Africa’s domestic capital base has reached a scale that now exceeds external financing flows over the past decade, marking a turning point in how the continent funds its growth and industrialisation, according to the Africa Finance Corporation’s (www.AfricaFC.org) State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2026.

SAIR 2026 finds that cumulative external flows to Africa totalled approximately US$1.7 trillion between 2014 and 2024, while Africa’s non-bank domestic capital pools exceed US$2 trillion. The implication is clear: African capital now has a stronger foundation to play a significantly larger role in financing the continent’s development.

Launched at The Africa We Build Summit in Nairobi, co-hosted by AFC and H.E. Dr William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya, the SAIR 2026 report argues that the overarching development priority has shifted from capital mobilisation to intermediation—converting savings into infrastructure, industry, and productive investment at scale.

“The constraint is no longer capital—it is intermediation,” Samaila Zubairu, President & CEO of AFC, said at the The Africa We Build Summit today. “We have the savings, but not yet the systems to channel them into infrastructure and industry at scale. Closing that gap is now Africa’s most important economic task. The next phase of Africa’s infrastructure story must move beyond standalone assets towards integrated systems.”

Local Capital on the Rise

Driving the increase in domestic institutional capital, pension and insurance assets have surpassed US$1 trillion for the first time. Public development bank assets stand at US$276 billion, and sovereign wealth funds at US$164 billion, while central bank reserves increased from US$480 billion in 2024 to US$530 billion in 2025.

This increase has been supported in part by stronger commodity dynamics and rising gold accumulation. Gold now represents approximately 17% of Africa’s total reserves, up from less than 10% in 2022–2023, while physical holdings rose from 663 tonnes in 2022 to an estimated 738 tonnes in 2025.

Despite its increased scale, domestic capital remains largely concentrated in short-term, low-risk assets—particularly government securities—reflecting limited investable pipelines, regulatory incentives favouring liquidity, and insufficient risk-sharing mechanisms. The result is a persistent gap between available savings and long-term productive investment.

Africa is not capital-poor—it is capital-rich but system-poor

External Financing Recedes

At the same time, external financing is becoming less reliable, reinforcing the case for a domestic capital-led development model. Official development assistance to Africa fell from US$83.8 billion in 2020 to US$73.5 billion in 2023 and is projected to decline further. The OECD estimates global official development assistance fell 23.1% in 2025, the largest annual contraction on record.

Sovereign issuance remains well below pre-2019 levels, falling from over US$29 billion in 2018 to US$4–6 billion annually in 2022–2023, while foreign direct investment has remained concentrated at roughly US$45–55 billion annually, insufficient to meet the continent’s broad investment needs.

As a result, external capital is increasingly complementary, rather than foundational , to Africa’s development model.

From Assets to Integrated Systems

The biggest potential for capital deployment lies in demand-driven integrated infrastructure, according to SAIR 2026. In transport and logistics, corridors deliver the greatest value when designed as production ecosystems rather than transit routes—linking ports, rail, roads, logistics, storage, and trade facilitation to industrial demand. A continental backbone is already taking shape; the opportunity now is to improve performance, execution, and coordination.

This is particularly evident in East Africa. Mombasa—one of Africa’s busiest ports—handles more than 45 million tonnes of cargo annually, while rail investments are extending connectivity inland, including along the Naivasha–Kisumu corridor. In aviation, SAIR 2026 identifies air transport as the most immediate and scalable lever for integration. Across Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia, aviation contributes a combined US$5.5 billion to GDP and supports around one million jobs, demonstrating how connectivity can rapidly translate into trade and growth.

Similarly, in energy, the priority is no longer incremental capacity additions alone, but integrated systems combining generation, transmission, storage, fuels, and industrial demand. Cross-border infrastructure such as the Ethiopia–Kenya interconnector shows how regional systems can move power to where it is needed most and improve system-wide efficiency.

Resilience Gap

Recent shocks—from Russia–Ukraine to the 2026 Gulf crisis—underscore the cost of fragmented systems and the urgency of building domestic processing, storage, and supply-chain resilience. The continent continues to import over 70% of its refined fuel and faces an estimated US$230 billion annual import bill across essential goods—including fuel, food, plastics, steel, and fertiliser, according to SAIR 2026.

In digital infrastructure, while connectivity has expanded rapidly, the next opportunity lies in building the “missing middle”—terrestrial backbone networks, metro fibre, data centres, Internet Exchange Points, and enterprise platforms that convert connectivity into productivity, services exports, and job creation.

Across all sectors and African countries, the report’s conclusion is consistent: the development challenge is increasingly institutional and systemic. Capital exists, and infrastructure assets are expanding. The next breakthrough will come from linking finance, energy, transport, industry, and digital systems into coherent ecosystems capable of supporting growth at scale.

“Africa is not capital-poor—it is capital-rich but system-poor,” said Zubairu. “The priority must be to build the institutions, instruments, and project pipelines required to deploy that capital into infrastructure and industry at scale.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).

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Hainan economic, trade delegation visits Hong Kong for investment promotion, 2 cooperation memoranda signed

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Hong Kong

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – From October 19 to 20, an economic and trade delegation from Hainan Province paid a visit to Hong Kong. The delegation signed memoranda of cooperation respectively withThe Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong (CMA)and the Federation of Hong Kong Industries (FHKI) to advance pragmatic cross-border collaboration between Hainan and Hong Kong in trade and investment, manufacturing industrial chains and professional services.

 




 
 

During its stay in Hong Kong, the delegation visited the CCPIT Representative Office in Hong Kong. It held discussions with CMA and co-hosted the Hainan Free Trade Port (Hong Kong) Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange Meeting with FHKI. The event showcased the policies, key industrial layout and investment opportunities of the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), and arranged one-on-one business matchmaking between Hainan and Hong Kong enterprises.

Wang Yuyuan, Vice President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Hainan Sub-council (CCPIT Hainan) and China Chamber of International Commerce Hainan Chamber of Commerce, noted that since the official launch of island-wide special customs operations at the Hainan FTP on December 18, 2025, 174,000 new enterprises have been registered, representing a year-on-year surge of 95.9 percent. Newly established foreign-invested enterprises rose by 35.8 percent year on year. In the first half of this year, inbound and outbound tourist arrivals exceeded 70 million, up 28 percent year on year, with the number of visa-free entry countries expanding to 88. From January to August, the province’s total goods import and export volume hit 250 billion yuan, growing by 61.5 percent year on year. Hainan is rapidly emerging as a critical gateway connecting China with the rest of the world and a prime channel for two-way investment.

According to CCPIT Hainan, Hong Kong ranks as a major source of foreign investment for Hainan. In the first half of this year, Hainan registered 1,303 new foreign-invested enterprises, an increase of 38.62 percent year on year, with Hong Kong-funded enterprises accounting for the lion’s share. Hainan has issued offshore RMB local government bonds in Hong Kong for four consecutive years, with a cumulative issuance volume reaching 18 billion yuan.

CMA is one of Hong Kong’s most representative non-profit industrial and commercial bodies, with around 3,000 member enterprises. It has long provided members with business services including exhibitions, brand promotion, testing and certification. FHKI, one of Hong Kong’s four major chambers of commerce, has approximately 2,000 corporate members. It focuses on boosting the sustained development of Hong Kong industry and manufacturing through policy advocacy, business matchmaking, certification services and youth talent cultivation.

The two memoranda explicitly stipulate that the two sides will establish a regular liaison mechanism, build a long-term cooperation platform covering information sharing, business matchmaking, exhibition collaboration and professional services, and provide solid support for pragmatic business cooperation between Hainan and Hong Kong enterprises.

Source: China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Hainan Provincial Committee (CCPIT Hainan)

 
 




 

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Africa gains governance momentum in the 2026 Chandler Good Government Index, but sustaining progress is the real test

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Africa

Across Africa, average scores improved in six of the seven CGGI pillars over the past year, with the strongest gains in Helping People Rise and Financial Stewardship

This signals that stronger government capabilities are beginning to translate into tangible improvements in people’s lives

KIGALI, Rwanda, October 29, 2026/APO Group/ –Africa was the second best-performing region for governance progress in the 2026 Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI), with 71% of the African countries assessed in both 2025 and 2026 achieving higher overall scores. However, the continent remains the lowest-scoring region overall, highlighting the challenge of translating improvement in government capabilities into better outcomes for citizens.

 




 
 

These findings were highlighted by the Chandler Governance Group (CGG) at a joint session with the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) to launch the 13th edition of the Rwanda Governance Scorecard at the Kigali Serena Hotel on Thursday, 22 October 2026.

“This year, Africa’s strongest gains came in Financial Stewardship, followed by Helping People Rise, the CGGI’s outcomes pillar. This signals that stronger government capabilities are beginning to translate into tangible improvements in people’s lives, from access to quality education and healthcare to the public finances that fund them. The task now is to sustain that progress over the coming years,” says Dinesh Naidu, Director (Knowledge) at CGG.

Now in its sixth edition, the CGGI assesses government capabilities and effectiveness across 133 countries representing 94% of the world’s population, up from 120 countries in 2025. It measures 35 equally weighted indicators across seven pillars, providing governments with a framework to benchmark performance, identify gaps and learn from the experience of other countries.

Globally, the findings point to improving governance performance. Of the 120 countries assessed in both 2025 and 2026, 61% recorded higher scores, representing the highest annual share of countries improving since the Index launched in 2021. However, longer-term progress has been less consistent, with only 43% of the 104 countries tracked since 2021 recording an overall improvement.

Africa’s leading governments

Mauritius remains Africa’s highest-ranked country, placing 55th globally, followed by Rwanda (62nd), Botswana (70th), Morocco (79th) and Tanzania (80th). South Africa ranks sixth on the continent, in 85th place globally.

Rwanda features prominently in the discussion, ranking 11th globally for Leadership & Foresight and emerging as the highest-ranked low-income country in the Index. It ranks 61 places above where its income alone would predict. Across the Index, government capabilities track citizen outcomes more closely than national wealth does, suggesting that strengthening government capabilities matter in delivering better outcomes for citizens.

The joint session brings together the CGGI’s international benchmarks and the Rwanda Governance Scorecard’s assessment of governance in the Rwandan context, creating an opportunity to consider both global perspectives and country-specific priorities.

Progress across key governance pillars

Across Africa, average scores improved in six of the seven CGGI pillars over the past year, with the strongest gains in Helping People Rise and Financial Stewardship. These improvements point to progress in areas associated with public services, including healthcare and education, as well as the management of public finances.

Longer-term trends also highlight areas of progress. Between 2021 and 2026, nearly every African country assessed across the period improved its Data Capability score, with Morocco recording the largest gains. Ghana’s overall score improved in 2026, supported by stronger Financial Stewardship, while South Africa continues to show relative strength in Robust Laws & Policies, ranking 44th globally, and Attractive Marketplace, ranking 48th.

Despite these gains, the scale of the challenge remains clear. Africa’s regional average is still below its 2021 level, 23 of the 35 African countries in the 2026 Index rank outside the global top 100, and none is in the top 50. Seven African countries joined the Index this year: Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Guinea, Lesotho, Liberia and Togo.

“Rankings provide a useful starting point, but the broader value of the CGGI lies in helping governments understand where they are making progress and where further work is needed. Sustained improvements depend on the ability to strengthen institutions, manage resources responsibly and turn policy into meaningful outcomes for citizens,” says Naidu.

A tool for learning and improvement

The CGGI is designed as a practical diagnostic tool, helping governments identify gaps, track progress over time, and learn from peers facing similar constraints. The collaboration with the RGB brings international benchmarking together with locally grounded assessment.

“Every country faces its own governance challenges and is driven by varying priorities. Governments that are willing to take stock of the evidence and learn from peers to strengthen their institutions are well placed to achieve real improvements,” concludes Naidu.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Chandler Governance Group.

 

 




 

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Spiro brings electric motorcycles and battery-swapping technology to Ghana, expanding its pan-African footprint

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Spiro

The integrated offering aims to reduce daily operating costs and minimise downtime, with battery swaps completed in just two minutes and potential savings of up to USD 2 per day compared with petrol-powered motorcycles

ACCRA, Ghana, October 29, 2026/APO Group/ —

  • Spiro’s entry into Ghana introduces the Ekon 450 M1 V3 electric motorcycle and its battery-swapping solution, bringing a new mobility option to commercial riders and delivery fleets.
  • The integrated offering aims to reduce daily operating costs and minimise downtime, with battery swaps completed in just two minutes and potential savings of up to USD 2 per day compared with petrol-powered motorcycles.
  • Test rides and product demonstrations across Greater Accra will support the rollout and help riders experience the benefits of electric mobility.

 




 
 

Spiro (www.Spironet.com), Africa’s largest electric mobility company, is expanding its footprint in Ghana with the introduction of the Ekon 450 M1 V3 electric motorcycle and its battery-swapping solution. Combining electric two-wheelers with access to charged batteries, Spiro aims to make everyday transport more affordable and practical for riders while supporting Ghana’s transition towards sustainable mobility.

For commercial riders and delivery fleets, fuel expenses and time spent off the road directly affect daily earnings. Spiro’s integrated offering addresses both challenges: riders can exchange a depleted battery for a charged one at a Spiro battery-swapping station in just two minutes, while potentially saving up to USD 2 per day in operating costs compared with conventional petrol-powered motorcycles.

Ghana represents a major opportunity for electric mobility, with a rapidly growing two-wheeler market and increasing demand from commercial riders and delivery fleets

Designed to meet the everyday mobility needs of African riders, the Ekon 450 M1 V3 offers an alternative to petrol-powered motorcycles. Supported by Spiro’s battery-swapping technology, it allows riders to get back on the road without waiting for their motorcycle to recharge.

Auroasish Choudhuri Managing Director Central and West Africa, commented: “Our entry into Ghana is an important step in strengthening Spiro’s presence in West Africa. Our focus is on building a local ecosystem that riders can rely on, combining electric motorcycles with convenient access to battery swapping. By working closely with local partners and listening to riders’ needs, we aim to support the long-term adoption of electric mobility in Ghana.”

Kaushik Burman, CEO Mobility of Spiro said: “Ghana represents a major opportunity for electric mobility, with a rapidly growing two-wheeler market and increasing demand from commercial riders and delivery fleets. By bringing the Ekon 450 M1 V3 together with our battery-swapping solution, we are addressing two key barriers to adoption: operating costs and access to charging infrastructure. Our ambition is to build a strong foundation for electric mobility to scale across Ghana.”

To support its rollout, Spiro is engaging with prospective customers through test rides, product demonstrations and live demonstrations of its battery-swapping technology across Greater Accra. These activities give riders the opportunity to experience the Ekon 450 M1 V3 and understand how battery swapping can fit into their daily routines.

Mr Maxwell Dodd, Managing Director of Spiro Ghana, said: “For riders in Ghana, the value of electric mobility lies in what it can deliver every day: lower operating costs, less downtime and more time on the road. Through the Ekon 450 M1 V3 and our battery-swapping solution, we want to make those benefits accessible and support riders as they make the transition to electric motorcycles.”

Ghana forms part of Spiro’s wider expansion across Africa. Building on its recent USD 270 million equity funding round and an additional USD 18 million in debt financing from the Africa Go Green Fund, the company is scaling its electric mobility ecosystem with the ambition of establishing a presence in 20 African markets. Spiro is also preparing to enter new countries, including Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Spiro.

 

 




 

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