Building on the successful conclusion of the 17th replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF-17), which mobilised $11 billion for Africa’s most vulnerable countries, the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and the Government of the United Kingdom have convened global investors and private sector leaders in London to advance a new phase of private capital mobilisation for Africa’s development.
The inaugural Africa Private Capital Mobilisation Day, held on December 17 at Lancaster House, brought together more than 150 senior decision-makers from private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurers, philanthropies, development finance institutions and export credit agencies, marking a shift from policy dialogue to execution.
The high-level event was hosted by the AfDB Group in partnership with UK government institutions, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), UK Export Finance and British International Investment, underscoring a shared commitment to scaling private capital flows into African economies.
Speaking at the opening, President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr Sidi Ould Tah, described the event as a natural continuation of the ADF-17 replenishment process and a decisive step towards addressing Africa’s estimated $402 billion annual development financing gap.
“We will build on recent engagements with development finance institutions, export credit agencies, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurers and philanthropic partners to advance concrete initiatives under our vision for a New African Financial Architecture,” Dr Ould Tah said.
The Africa Private Capital Mobilisation Day aligns with President Ould Tah’s Four Cardinal Points vision, which focuses on unlocking Africa’s capital potential, strengthening financial sovereignty, transforming demographic growth into a dividend, and delivering resilient infrastructure and value chains.
UK Minister for Development, Jenny Chapman, said the decision to host the inaugural event in London reflects the City of London’s strategic role in mobilising investment for Africa.
“The UK’s shifting role—from donor to investor—will support countries who want to grow their economies and ultimately exit the need for aid,” she noted.
Discussions during the programme focused on reshaping perceptions of risk in Africa, designing innovative financial platforms and mobilising capital for fragile and frontier markets. New analysis from the Global Emerging Markets Risk Database, presented by the Center for Global Development, showed that long-term lending to African borrowers has historically been significantly less risky than widely perceived.
Sector-focused sessions highlighted healthcare and aviation as critical to strengthening Africa’s economic resilience, productivity and regional integration. Participants were introduced to two flagship initiatives championed by the Bank Group and its partners.
The Africa Medicines and Equipment Facility, developed in partnership with the Gates Foundation, aims to provide African countries with predictable, timely and affordable financing for essential medicines and medical equipment. Meanwhile, the Integrated Aviation Transformation Programme for Africa, supported by a dedicated blended-finance facility, seeks to modernise and expand the continent’s aviation ecosystem, covering airports, airlines and enabling services critical to trade and tourism.
On the sidelines of the event, Dr Ould Tah convened a closed-door roundtable with senior executives from about 30 leading institutional investors to explore the establishment of an Africa-focused Private Sector Innovation Lab. The proposed platform would co-create new financing instruments, partnership models and risk-sharing solutions tailored to African markets.
The outcomes of the Africa Private Capital Mobilisation Day have been captured in the London Communiqué, outlining commitments by the AfDB Group and its partners to scale private capital mobilisation for Africa. Further work is expected to define priority actions and implementation pathways to translate ambition into scalable capital flows and effective risk mitigation solutions.
