By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Kenya, April 23, 2026 - President William Ruto has renewed calls for Africa to rethink how it finances its development, urging a shift from dependence on external funding toward mobilising domestic capital to bridge the continent’s widening infrastructure gap.
Speaking during the launch of the 2026 State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report by the Africa Finance Corporation at the Africa We Build Summit in Nairobi, Ruto framed the issue not as a lack of money, but a failure of alignment between available capital and investment priorities.
“We must mobilise African capital for African development,” Ruto said, emphasising that the continent has significant financial resources that remain underutilised in driving large-scale infrastructure projects.
The President argued that Africa’s economic transformation will depend on its ability to redirect domestic savings, held in pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and financial institutions, toward productive sectors such as energy, transport, and industrial value chains.
He noted that relying heavily on external financing has exposed African economies to global shocks and rising borrowing costs.
“Africa cannot continue to depend on external capital to fund its development,” he said, calling for stronger policy frameworks that unlock local investment into bankable infrastructure projects.
His remarks come against the backdrop of growing concern that, despite rising pools of capital across the continent, critical infrastructure projects remain underfunded.
According to the AFC report, capital held by African institutions has surged past $2 trillion, yet much of it is concentrated in low-risk assets rather than long-term development investments.
The report highlights a structural disconnect: while liquidity exists, it is not being channelled into sectors that generate jobs and economic growth.
AFC President Samaila Zubairu captured this gap succinctly, noting that “capital is accumulating across Africa, but it is not creating jobs at scale.”
Ruto echoed this concern, stressing that the challenge is not just about raising funds, but about designing systems that convert capital into tangible development outcomes.
He pointed to the need for coordinated efforts between governments, financial institutions, and private investors to build pipelines of investable projects.
The summit itself, co-hosted by Kenya and AFC, is structured around this objective, bringing together policymakers, financiers, and industry leaders to move infrastructure from concept to execution.
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Discussions have focused on regional transport corridors, cross-border energy systems, and industrial value chains as critical pillars for Africa’s growth.
Ruto also linked infrastructure development to broader economic resilience, arguing that strengthening internal financing mechanisms would shield African economies from external volatility, including geopolitical tensions and tightening global credit conditions.
This aligns with his broader push for reforms in the global financial system, where he has previously argued that African countries face disproportionately high borrowing costs due to structural biases in risk assessment.
Beyond rhetoric, Kenya has already begun positioning itself within this shift.
The government is pursuing the establishment of a National Infrastructure Fund aimed at financing key projects without increasing public debt, while also exploring ways to attract long-term institutional investors into strategic sectors.
The AFC, established in 2007, has been at the centre of these efforts, investing billions of dollars in infrastructure projects across Africa, from power generation to transport and telecommunications.
However, the urgency of the moment is clear.
With Africa’s infrastructure financing gap estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars annually, the continent faces a narrowing window to align its growing capital base with its development needs.
For Ruto, the solution lies in shifting mindset as much as policy.
“Africa is not capital-poor,” he noted in line with the report’s findings. “The task before us is to channel that capital into infrastructure and industry at scale.”
As global financing conditions tighten and development demands rise, the success of that shift could determine whether Africa’s economic potential translates into sustained growth, or remains locked in untapped capital.