African Finance Alliance Opens New Path for Long-Term Investment

African deposit funds hold savings and public resources that can be directed towards national development when supported by strong governance and suitable investment structures.

The African Development Bank Group and African members of the African Forum of Deposit Funds are strengthening their partnership to unlock more long-term financing for sustainable development across the continent. The alliance will combine institutional savings, investment experience and development-finance expertise to support productive businesses, essential infrastructure, entrepreneurship and projects capable of creating jobs. It also responds to a persistent challenge facing African economies: many development priorities require patient capital that remains available for years, while much of the financing currently offered is expensive, limited or structured around shorter repayment periods.

Long-term savings can finance Africa's priorities

African deposit funds hold savings and public resources that can be directed towards national development when supported by strong governance and suitable investment structures. Working with the African Development Bank Group could help these institutions channel more capital into projects with clear economic and social value, including ventures that strengthen local production, improve public services and reduce dependence on external markets. The partners plan to explore co-financing arrangements, joint operations, investment vehicles and financing platforms that can mobilise resources at a larger scale while reflecting the needs of individual countries and regions.

Ahmed Attout, Director of the Financial Sector Development Department at the African Development Bank Group, said stronger cooperation is necessary at a time of global economic uncertainty and rising pressure to find additional development resources. He explained that closer engagement with African deposit funds could support the continent's economic transformation, generate employment and help national economies withstand future disruptions. The partnership recognises that development challenges are too large and interconnected for any single institution to address alone.

A shared response to economic and climate shocks

The cooperation framework will also help the institutions coordinate their responses to geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, climate-related disruption, global market shocks, external dependencies and deep social and economic inequalities. These pressures can delay investment, weaken public finances and make it harder for communities and businesses to recover from crises. Pooling financial capacity and technical knowledge could provide African countries with more stable funding options and reduce the risks that often prevent promising projects from moving forward.

Maryse Lokossou, Managing Director of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations du Bénin and Chair of the African Forum of Deposit Funds, said African deposit funds possess a valuable ability to mobilise long-term savings for national development. Combining their investment capacity with the expertise of the African Development Bank Group could accelerate projects that deliver measurable benefits for people, businesses and local economies. The partnership will respect the different structures and mandates of participating institutions while directing joint efforts towards sectors offering strong development potential.

Investment designed to create lasting local value

Knowledge sharing and institutional capacity building will form another important part of the alliance. Stronger technical skills, improved investment planning and better risk-management systems can help deposit funds identify viable projects and protect the resources entrusted to them. The partners will also develop solutions that improve economic resilience against financial, environmental and external shocks, with investments aligned with national strategies and regional development priorities.

The initiative supports the New African Financial Architecture for Development, which promotes a more inclusive, coordinated and predictable financial system across the continent. Its success will depend on whether the partnership turns institutional commitments into accessible capital for businesses, infrastructure and communities. If implemented effectively, the alliance could keep more African savings working within Africa, giving countries greater control over how they finance development and creating opportunities that deliver lasting value for their people.