BRAZZAVILLE/Republic of the Congo: Financial experts, central bankers and development finance leaders have called for stronger and more integrated financial systems across Africa as a critical step towards mobilising the massive resources needed to drive the continent’s development amid growing global economic uncertainties.
The call was made during a high-level panel session organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group at its 2026 Annual Meetings in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, where stakeholders stressed that Africa possesses the resources required for transformation but must urgently improve mechanisms for mobilising and deploying them effectively.
The session, themed “Strengthening and Consolidating Africa’s Financial Systems and Agency in the Changing World,” brought together heads of financial institutions, central bank executives, regulators, legal experts and development finance practitioners from across Africa and beyond.
Moderated by the AfDB Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer, Hassatou N’Sele, the discussion focused on strategies for unlocking domestic capital, strengthening development finance institutions and building resilient financial systems capable of supporting sustainable economic growth.
Opening the discussion, Governor of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Nobumitsu Hayashi, highlighted lessons from Asia’s economic development experience, stressing that regional financial integration, strong domestic financial markets and local currency bond markets were instrumental to the region’s growth trajectory.
“We are doing a lot of financial integration because it is the real driver of sustained economic growth within Asian countries,” Hayashi said.
Participants also examined the role of insurance and guarantee instruments in attracting long-term investment, as well as the legal and regulatory reforms required to deepen Africa’s financial markets and improve investor confidence.
The experts identified the African Development Bank’s New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD) as a strategic initiative capable of helping Africa bridge its estimated annual development financing gap of about $400 billion.
First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dieudonné Fikiri Alimasi, emphasised the importance of macroeconomic stability and stronger confidence in local currencies as prerequisites for expanding financial inclusion and boosting domestic investment.
Similarly, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), Michel Dzombala, noted that central banks across the region have a crucial role to play in mobilising finance and strengthening regional financial institutions.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund (FAGACE), Ngueto Tiraïna Yambaye, urged African institutions to work more closely together to improve global perceptions of investment risk on the continent and unlock additional capital flows.
On the need for policy reforms, Kalidou Gadio, Co-Chair of the US-Africa Practice at DLA Piper, called for the removal of legal and regulatory barriers limiting the efficient deployment of capital, including sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investments.
Chief Executive Officer of the African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI), Manuel Moses, argued that Africa already possesses substantial resources and that NAFAD offers an important framework for organising and mobilising those resources more effectively from within the continent.
Also speaking, Cedrick Motetcho, Chief of Business Development at the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), stressed that partnerships should move beyond rhetoric and become a practical tool for accelerating financing and development outcomes.
For Carlos Lopes, Honorary Professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town, African governments must pursue macroeconomic and financial reforms that support industrialisation and maximise the use of long-term domestic capital such as pension funds.
At the close of the session, panelists agreed that Africa’s challenge is not a shortage of resources but the urgent need to mobilise available capital more efficiently to finance development priorities.
“Africa has what it takes, all the assets needed to transform its economies,” Alimasi declared, summarising the collective optimism that stronger financial systems can accelerate the continent’s economic transformation and strengthen its resilience in an increasingly fragmented global economy.
