Ray Echebiri (Bangkok, Thailand)

Global financial leaders, policymakers, and private sector executives have said that structural reforms, technological innovations, critical south-south partnerships are critical to unlocking Africa’s potential.

The experts stated this yesterday at a high-level panel session entitled “Africa’s Golden Future,” at the ongoing 2026 World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings.

Amid severe global economic headwinds—including rising public debts, geopolitical fragmentation, and shifting trade patterns—the session focused on how the African continent can transition from an aid-dependent model to a self-sustaining engine of global growth.

Reshaping Global Growth Through Strategic Investments

Opening the session, Li Bo, Deputy Managing Director, IMF emphasised that Africa can no longer be viewed through the lens of crisis management, but rather as the foundational future of the global workforce.

Pointing to the IMF’s revised global growth forecasts, Bo noted that while economic fragmentation is straining traditional markets, Africa’s unique demographic advantage offers an unparalleled growth engine. He urged member states to accelerate domestic resource mobilization and push for equity-driven international financing over debt-heavy loans.

Driving Trade and Industrialisation

Ahmed Rostom, Minister of Economy and Planning, Egypt, detailed how the current combination of energy market shocks and tight global financial access is limiting fiscal space for developing nations. To overcome these limits, he called for deeper regional integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and emphasised building stronger trade links between African and Asian markets to protect domestic economies from unilateral trade disruptions.

In his intervention, Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, President of African Development Bank (AfDB), called for stronger and more consistent execution of economic reforms across African nations rather than just policy announcements. He highlighted that the AfDB has actively backed economic reforms in countries like Nigeria and Egypt through targeted budget support.  He emphasized that intra-African trade remains low at roughly 15% of total trade (compared to much higher rates in other regions), underscoring the urgent need to invest heavily in regional infrastructure connecting African economies and accelerating the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

On infrastructure financing share, he noted that the AfDB dedicates more than 60% of its financing portfolio directly to infrastructure development.

He explained the bank’s regional financing arrangement which permits eligible countries to contribute 10% of the cost of qualifying regional projects (involving more than two African countries) while the remaining 90% is covered through the bank’s regional envelope.

Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, pointed to structural reform as a foundation for growth. He emphasised the need to improve macroeconomic stability and creation of conditions that attract private investment.

He also talked about the need for deeper African trade integration, including the importance of strengthening regional markets and unlocking opportunities through greater intra-African commerce.