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Addis Ababa, February 12, 2026 — The African Alliance of Multilateral Financial Institutions, known as AAMFI, will play a central role in the Third Presidential Breakfast Dialogue during the 2026 African Union Summit, placing African financial institutions at the heart of efforts to strengthen the continent’s development finance architecture.
The high-level dialogue, held on the sidelines of the 39th AU General Assembly, will bring together African heads of state and government, finance ministers, central bank governors, multilateral financial institutions, development partners and private sector leaders.
A central question driving the session is how Africa can deliberately strengthen its financial architecture to finance Agenda 2063, the African Union’s long-term development blueprint.
AAMFI’s Aligned Financial Strategy
AAMFI was launched in February 2024 on the sidelines of the 37th African Union Summit and is established as a federation of African-owned and African-managed multilateral financial institutions. Its mission is to strengthen collaboration, protect the interests of African financial institutions, and expand Africa’s voice in global financial governance.
Its members include:
African Finance Corporation African Export-Import Bank African Reinsurance Corporation African Solidarity Fund African Trade and Investment Development Insurance East African Development Bank African Export Development Fund Shelter African Development Bank Trade and Development Bank Group ZEP RE
Through structural cooperation, AAMFI aims to strengthen Africa’s ability to finance its own development while reducing structural dependence on external capital markets.
Launch of Africa Infrastructure Financing Facility
At the heart of this year’s dialogue is the formal introduction of the African Infrastructure Financing Facility.
This facility is designed to mobilize long-term financing for cross-border infrastructure projects in line with Agenda 2063 priorities. Integrate project preparation, risk mitigation tools, and structured financing mechanisms to attract large-scale institutional and private capital.
African policymakers have repeatedly identified infrastructure as a critical bottleneck for regional integration, industrialization and trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The new platform reflects a shift from policy advocacy to implementation.
Strengthening Africa’s financial sovereignty
AAMFI is also undertaking broader structural reforms, including:
Efforts to secure preferred creditor status for African multilateral financial institutions
Participating in G20 as a representative of Africa
Development of “African Club Deal Room”, a digital platform that connects African projects and investors
The Presidential Breakfast Dialogue is expected to strengthen political support for stronger collaboration among African financial institutions and support clearer capital mobilization channels.
Officials participating in the meeting will include heads of state, ministers of finance and economy, central bank governors, and leaders of African financial institutions.
strategic background
Africa continues to face high costs of capital, fragmented financing systems, and limited access to affordable long-term concessional financing. Agenda 2063 sets ambitious goals for industrialization, infrastructure development and economic integration, but achieving them depends on sustainable financing mechanisms.
This dialogue represents a concerted push to position African institutions as central actors in the formation and deployment of capital for the continent’s transformation.
As Africa consolidates its financial institutions and refines its continental capital strategy, leaders argue that greater domestic coordination is essential in a global environment increasingly defined by geopolitical competition and financial restructuring.
The continent’s integration project remains relatively young compared to the longer established world system. However, African institutions are increasingly moving towards structured and tailored funding mechanisms designed to match the scale of the continent’s ambitions.
The Third Presidential Breakfast Dialogue marks another step in that direction.
Africa’s development challenges are defined. The focus now is on building a system that can provide funding.
