Africa’s development financing needs are growing, but so is the recognition that the continent cannot depend on external capital alone to fund its long-term transformation. A new partnership between the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Forum of Deposit Funds is seeking to strengthen one of the continent’s most important but often underused financial resources: long-term domestic savings.
The two institutions agreed on 9 September 2026 to deepen cooperation aimed at mobilising long-term financing for sustainable development across Africa. The alliance is designed to support productive investment, strengthen economic resilience and expand financing solutions aligned with African development priorities.
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Turning Savings into Investment
At the centre of the partnership is the role of African deposit funds and other public financial institutions that manage savings and long-term resources.
The African Forum of Deposit Funds brings together African public institutions responsible for collecting, managing and deploying savings and other long-term public resources towards economic and social development. Working alongside the AfDB, these institutions can help channel more domestic resources into infrastructure, businesses, entrepreneurship and other productive sectors.
The agreement provides for cooperation on co-financing projects, joint operations, resource mobilisation and the development of investment vehicles and platforms capable of supporting productive investment and job creation.
This approach is significant because long-term development requires capital that can remain invested beyond short-term market cycles. Infrastructure, industrial projects, housing, energy systems and businesses expanding across borders often require patient financing rather than capital designed for quick returns.
Building Financial Resilience
The partnership also comes as African economies continue to navigate external shocks, climate pressures, market volatility and changing global economic conditions.
Rather than treating these challenges only as risks, the AfDB and African Forum of Deposit Funds are seeking to strengthen the continent’s financial architecture so that African institutions can play a larger role in financing development.
The partners intend to improve cooperation in knowledge sharing and institutional capacity development while supporting financial solutions that can make African economies more resilient to economic, financial and climate-related disruptions.
For Africa, the broader objective is not simply to find more money, but to build stronger mechanisms for turning available resources into long-term economic value.
The Domestic Capital Opportunity
The agreement reflects a wider shift towards strengthening Africa’s own financial capacity.
For decades, development financing conversations have often centred on attracting foreign investment, international development assistance and external borrowing. These sources remain important, but stronger domestic mobilisation can give African economies an additional foundation for financing their priorities.
African deposit funds can play an important role in this process because of their ability to mobilise and manage long-term savings. When these resources are combined with the AfDB’s financing, project-development and investment-mobilisation capabilities, they can support larger and more structured investment opportunities.
The partnership is therefore less about replacing international capital than about creating a stronger combination of domestic and external resources.
From Finance to Transformation
The ultimate test will be how effectively this cooperation translates into projects that create jobs, expand businesses and improve productive capacity.
The institutions have identified entrepreneurship and job creation among the areas that could benefit from joint investment platforms, while also highlighting the need for financing that supports sustainable and inclusive development.
That makes the initiative relevant to Africa’s wider economic transformation agenda.
Mobilising savings is only the first step; the greater opportunity lies in directing those resources towards sectors capable of generating lasting economic activity.
Africa’s development story increasingly depends on its ability to finance more of its own ambitions. The AfDB–African Forum of Deposit Funds alliance provides another example of African institutions working to strengthen that capacity from within.
If successfully translated into investment, the partnership could help move more African savings into African development — supporting businesses, infrastructure and productive industries while building greater resilience into the continent’s financial system.
