Africa Capable of Financing Its Infrastructure With $4.4 Trillion in Domestic Capital

Africa's domestic capital base has reached $4.4 trillion, highlighting the continent's capacity to finance high-impact infrastructure projects, according to a new report from the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).

The "2026 State of Africa Infrastructure Report," presented Thursday during the "Africa We Build" summit in Nairobi, Kenya, indicates that "African countries could better leverage domestic resources, particularly pension funds, to finance projects such as roads, ports, and fiber optic networks."

The report states that non-banking domestic capital funds, including insurance and pension assets, have surpassed $2 trillion across the continent, placing Africa in a strong position to invest in modern infrastructure, industrialization, and the green and digital transition.

"Africa indeed possesses the capital, and the challenge for the future lies in deploying it into the productive sectors of the economy to catalyze the transformation the continent needs," said Samaila Zubairu, President and CEO of the AFC, a pan-African multilateral financial institution with an "investment grade" rating.

Mr. Zubairu added that local savings could be channeled toward cross-border transport infrastructure, agricultural processing zones, data centers, and logistics hubs to strengthen export competitiveness and stimulate job creation.