Africa attracts, not begs, for capital. Will the Luanda Summit prove it?

By Ibrah Wahabou, Head of Infrastructure and Transport at AUDA-NEPAD

The African Union (AU) will convene a Summit that does not ask for aid but invites the world to co-invest in the Africa of tomorrow. Under the leadership of President João Lourenço of Angola, and Chairperson of the AU, and with AUDA-NEPAD at the helm, the Luanda Financing Summit aims to challenge donor-driven development finance models and offer a bold new playbook of investment partnerships for infrastructure-led transformation.

AUDA-NEPAD, in close collaboration with the Government of Angola and key partners, is working to ensure that the Summit delivers actionable, high-impact outcomes, outcomes that match both the urgency of the moment and the scale of Africa’s ambitions.

This piece explores why the Luanda Summit is a turning point in Africa’s approach to capital and investment.

This is Africa’s moment to lead…

Africa is increasingly central to global investment strategies. Consider the following figures for 2024 alone:

• China committed $29.2 billion to Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects across Africa, a 34% increase from the previous year.

• The U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) now holds its largest portfolio in Africa, with over $13.1 billion in exposure. In 2024 alone, it approved 72 new transactions.

• Through its Global Gateway, the European Union pledged to mobilize €150 billion across 11 strategic corridors on the continent.

There are similar stories from worldwide. India, Japan, and Gulf countries are making similar moves.

His Excellency President Lourenço rightly captured the moment at the 79th UN General Assembly:

“Africa must build infrastructures that guarantee connectivity between African countries, enable the mobility of economic operators, and encourage free trade among them.”

He further made it clear that the core priority is development rooted in the intensification of intra-African trade, particularly within the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

That vision, grounded in intra-African trade and AfCFTA, is what Luanda Summit is designed to activate.

Trans-Africa Highways

Why Luanda 2025 matters …

After over a decade working inside the African Union system on infrastructure policy and project finance. I have had the privilege of directly contributing to, and closely observing, the political economy of infrastructure financing and investment strategies in Africa. Through this journey, I have come to appreciate the importance of translating high-level diplomacy and global summits into tangible outcomes that improve the daily lives of African citizens, generate returns for private sector partners, and deliver meaningful value for the taxpayers of our bilateral development partners. That grounding, what the Physical Scientists might call a “restoring force”, is essential to ensure that our work remains relevant to what truly matters.

Along the way, I’ve learned a simple truth: summits and dialogues only matter when theydeliver real outcomes.

Too often, we gather at high tables while roads go unbuilt, corridors stall, and pipelines of investable projects remain underprepared or underfunded. Luanda must be different. It must connect political ambition to investor appetite, and diplomacy to deals.

This is important particularly in this era where global geopolitical shifts are challenging the very foundations of the multilateralism that defined Africa’s relationship with the world for the past 80 years. What is emerging instead is a more transactional bilateralism, with infrastructure and critical supply chains at the heart of this evolving landscape.

For Africa, this is not a threat, but a historic opportunity. With an additional one billion people projected by 2050, and strategic assets the world dearly needs, the Continent holds valuable cards. We owe it to the future generation to play those cards strategically and correctly, based on Africa’s ownership and leadership.

AU strategic priorities at Luanda 2025

Investors, trade partners, advocacy groups, and development actors can expect three key areas of deliberation.

1. A unified African vision for integrated infrastructure investment

Africa is decisively moving away from fragmented disconnected networks of extractive railways, roads, mines, and ports. Instead of railways built to move minerals out, we are designing economic development corridors that connect regions, industrial hubs, and value chains.

Corridors like Lobito, Dakar-Bamako-Djibouti, and LAPSSET (a 3,000 km railway linking Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Sudan that could boost Kenya’s GDP by up to 3%) illustrate this shift. At Luanda, Africa will present these as investment ecosystems, not just projects.

2. Unlocking domestic financing through institutional collaboration

The Summit will spotlight how African governments and African-led DFIs can unlock domestic capital, particularly the estimated $70 billion sitting idle in pension and sovereign wealth funds each year.

This could be catalytic. It would fund the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and accelerate the Single African Energy Market (AfSEM).

3. Reaffirming Africa’s climate leadership and demanding accessible climate finance

Africa remains committed to responsible, sustainable infrastructure, even as it pursues its development goals.

Luanda will reaffirm Africa’s position on climate change and demand accountability from global partners. This is not about aid. It is about justice.

Africa contributes just 4% of global emissions but faces the harshest climate impacts. And yet, we are ready to lead solutions again.

Beyond the vision, Luanda will make deals…

The Luanda Summit won’t just be speeches. It will include:

• Deal rooms and investment roundtables

• Bankable projects across transport, energy, digital, and water

• Partnerships to move projects from pipeline to financial close

Africa will not beg, she will build…

Africa doesn’t beg for capital. She attracts it. And increasingly, she demands a say in how it is structured, deployed, and aligned with the continent’s vision.

Whether you're a policymaker, investor, or global partner, Luanda is the platform to engage. To co-create solutions. To build the backbone of a united, connected, and climate-smart Africa that we want.

We look forward to seeing you there.