IFC Calls for Mobilizing Africa’s Own Capital to Drive Sustainable Growth

By Samuel Ouma

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is calling on Africa’s financial sector to step up and play a crucial role in directing local capital towards sustainable development.

During a press roundtable in Nairobi, just ahead of the Africa Financial Summit (AFIS) 2025, IFC’s Vice President for Africa, Ethiopis Tafara, highlighted the pressing need to tap into private capital to speed up Africa’s transformation. This session brought together senior leaders from IFC and media representatives to discuss innovative financial strategies that can drive private-sector development and create jobs.

“Across Africa, our goal is to unlock private capital at a scale that can genuinely transform economies,” Tafara stated.

“The urgency is real — millions of young people are entering the workforce each year, and we need to generate jobs faster than ever. This means we have to go beyond what development institutions can fund on their own and create the right environment for investors to support ventures that promote inclusive growth.”

The Nairobi roundtable was a precursor to the Africa Financial Summit, set for November 3–4 in Casablanca, Morocco, co-hosted by IFC and Jeune Afrique Media Groupe. The summit will gather over 1,000 leaders from banking, insurance, fintech, capital markets, and mobile money sectors, along with policymakers and regulators, to discuss how Africa can retain and reinvest more of its own capital to fuel sustainable development.

As of August 31, 2025, IFC’s investment portfolio in Kenya reached $1.3 billion, bolstering sectors like energy, agribusiness, manufacturing, and digital connectivity. The organization is also rolling out $65 million in advisory programs aimed at attracting private investment in affordable housing, small businesses, and agriculture. Initiatives like AgriConnect and M300 are paving the way for increased renewable energy access and enhancing smallholder farming systems in the country.

“Africa’s financial institutions hold the key to transforming the continent by channeling domestic savings into productive investments,” Tafara said.

“By collaborating with governments, the private sector, and our partners, we can steer Africa’s own capital into high-impact sectors — from infrastructure and energy to agribusiness, tourism, and manufacturing — where these investments can create jobs and foster a more resilient future,” he added.

The upcoming AFIS 2025 summit will spotlight tangible steps to bolster Africa’s banking and capital markets in support of these objectives. The IFC will unveil new financing tools aimed at converting local savings into sustainable, job-creating investments — a vital move to ensure that Africa’s growth is powered by Africans, for the benefit of Africa’s future.