How African investment leadership can play a key role in a post-aid world

IN A WORLD where development finance is undergoing a profound shift, Africa’s financial institutions are quietly but powerfully redrawing the playbook.

- Samaila Zubairu, President and Chief Executive Officer, Africa Finance Corporation. This article was originally published by the World Economic Forum.

Moving beyond traditional models, African Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) are stepping forward as co-architects of an investment-led future. Their contributions are reshaping not only the continent but the very model of global partnership.

The Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AAMFI) — created last year by DFIs investing a combined $70 billion (R1.3 trillion) — is helping drive this transformation through sustainable economic growth and financial self-reliance.

From cross-border energy platforms to strategic transport corridors, these institutions are pioneering new growth models and credit enhancement initiatives grounded in local capital, institutional strength and global collaboration.

Across Africa, now, DFIs are catalysing economic opportunity through partnerships built on co-investment, local leadership and shared value creation.

This approach was evident at the recent IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings, where African ownership and leadership of initiatives such as the Lobito Corridor attracted renewed US and European backing.

Africa's elevated voice at global platforms such as COP27, COP28 and the World Economic Forum underscores its growing role in shaping international development priorities.

This evolution is not unique to Africa. It represents a new understanding of a universal imperative in a multipolar world. Traditional aid was never a primary driver of progress. Resilience and sustainability increasingly depend on empowered local institutions driving scalable investment and development.

Unlocking Africa’s capital for growth

One of Africa's greatest untapped resources may not lie beneath the ground, but in its own financial systems. According to the recently published State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2025, Africa holds more than $4 trillion in mobilizable capital from institutional assets, banking sector liquidity and sovereign reserves.