African Development Bank Group President Sidi Ould Tarr (centre) presents the African Regional Economic Community with a vision for a “New African Financial Architecture” and emphasizes the critical importance of strengthening regional collaboration to close the continent’s financing gap.
Leaders of Africa’s Regional Economic Communities (Recs) are backing a new framework aimed at mobilizing large-scale domestic capital to close the continent’s development funding gap.
The New African Financial Architecture (NAFA) also aims to strengthen Africa’s financial sovereignty and strengthen the continent’s ability to finance its own development. Support for the framework was confirmed at a high-level meeting convened by African Development Bank Group President Sidi Ould Tarr this week on the sidelines of the 39th African Union Summit.
The meeting brought together the chief executives of the AU-recognized Recs, including the Arab Maghreb Union, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, the Economic Community of Central African States, the Economic Community of West African States, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and the Southern African Development Community, as well as Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Ould Tarr emphasized the urgency of moving beyond fragmented systems to a coordinated financial architecture that can unlock Africa’s capital potential, rebuild financial sovereignty, create jobs for youth, and scale up innovative infrastructure while fostering industrialization. “NAFA is not just a financial plan, it is a blueprint for Africa’s economic transformation,” he said.
“This points to a future where Africa funds development on its terms, through cooperation, consistency and leadership.”
As a key pillar of Mr. Ould Tarr’s Four Axis strategic vision, NAFA is a key driver for reforming Africa’s financial system and expanding its unified voice on the world stage.
This conference marks a decisive step towards aligning regional priorities with locally rooted financial models to drive sustainable growth and resilience across the continent.
Regional leaders welcomed NAFA’s efforts and shared concrete actions their communities are taking to scale up investment in cross-border infrastructure, industrialization, and private sector development. They also highlighted the importance of co-financing platforms, local implementation capacity and guarantees to de-risk the investment pipeline.
Furthermore, it was emphasized that the need to curb illicit financial flows is a key element in strengthening domestic resource mobilization, given its lasting impact on fiscal sustainability, governance, and Africa’s ability to mobilize its resources for development.
Francisca Bellobe, African Union Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals, called for greater collaboration between African institutions and financial actors to tackle fragmentation, strengthen implementation and place African businesses at the center of growth opportunities.
He called on Recs to play a leading role in identifying and supporting African business champions, saying, “Recs must help put African businesses at the heart of Africa’s investment and growth opportunities.”
According to Bellob, this approach is essential to anchor industrialization, strengthen regional value chains and ensure that Africa’s development is driven by African-led economic actors.
Mr. Mene welcomed NAFA as a timely boost to Africa’s industrialization and implementation of the AfCFTA. He emphasized the importance of leveraging critical minerals to address Africa’s infrastructure gaps and support regional value chains and sustainable industrial growth.
Comesa Secretary-General Chilishe Kapwepwe expressed the importance of Recs “providing the wheels of integration that NAFA needs to launch and organize cross-border projects into investable pipelines and foster effective regional cooperation.”
“We need to spend more time, effort and resources on market research to clearly identify gaps, support policy harmonization and conduct critical skills audits to inform targeted training, including new technologies such as AI,” she said.
The high-level meeting concluded with a shared commitment to bridging the gap between regional policy and economic impact through three key pillars.
These are deepening collaboration between banking groups, RECs, and African financial institutions. Ensure strategic alignment of key regional projects with NAFA’s investment priorities. We drive responsible impact and ensure results are measurable, inclusive, and transformative.
This strategic roundtable, held on the eve of the 2026 AU Summit, positions NAFA as a central platform to mobilize Africa’s wealth more effectively, faster and at scale to support the continent’s development ambitions. The African Development Bank Group will maintain sustained, high-level engagement with key partners to integrate results into implementation roadmaps and translate Africa’s Agenda 2063 into concrete, large-scale results.
