Nairobi: Addressing Heads of State, Diplomats, Business Leaders, and Investors during the 2026 Africa Forward Summit at KICC in Nairobi, the French leader revealed that investors attending the event had pledged £23 billion in investments in Africa.
According to Kenya News Agency, the commitments include £14 billion from French companies investing in African countries and £9 billion from African businesses and investors. The French leader described the pledges as evidence that the summit was the ‘Summit for Action’. He emphasized that private investors, business investors, and private investment funds had committed to the substantial investment, showcasing the summit’s effectiveness in promoting action.
The French leader challenged African nations to transition from traditional donor-recipient models of aid dependency to shared investment in sectors such as industry, infrastructure, energy, innovation, and youth development. He stressed the importance of co-investment and equal partnership, urging African nations to focus on moving up the value chain by strengthening agriculture and industry.
He emphasized the need for co-investment to support Africa’s infrastructure, including energy transformation, talent development, and the formal economy. He highlighted the significance of the Africa Forward agenda for growth and prosperity, emphasizing investment to support Africa’s strategic autonomy and reduce European dependency.
The French leader also pointed out that Africa’s success in sectors like Artificial Intelligence, agriculture, and industry would strengthen Europe’s future by creating alternative economic solutions and expanding opportunities for young people. He noted that strong African economies would help address global challenges while supporting a strategic agenda through a balanced and mutually beneficial partnership.
He urged African leaders to adopt a new growth model focused on natural resources, agriculture, and industrial development, supported by fiscal policies aligned with this agenda. To strengthen Africa’s financial systems, he announced France’s support for the African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI) in Nairobi, aimed at unlocking finance and expanding investment guarantees across the continent.
The French leader called for better mobilisation of international financing to support Africa’s development priorities and mentioned that the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank had helped remobilise over 100 billion special drawing rights for Africa. He revealed France’s commitment to supporting the ATIDI through capital investment to build an Africa-wide first-loss guarantee mechanism, aimed at unlocking more funding for development projects.
According to Macron, this initiative is part of a new financial model designed to advance Africa’s prosperity and strategic autonomy. He noted that the agenda would be presented at the upcoming G7 Summit in ‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬°vian and further discussed at global institutions like the United Nations, the IMF, and the World Bank.
The French leader highlighted the shared challenges of peace, prosperity, and sovereignty faced by Africa and Europe, advocating for a partnership that serves these goals. He supported calls for greater African representation in global governance institutions, including the United Nations Security Council, and emphasized the importance of Africa’s unity and better representation in achieving stability across the continent.
He concluded by stressing the importance of economic reforms for Africa’s future prosperity, focusing on investing in human capital, expanding formal economies, industrialisation, and value addition rather than raw material exports.
