"We must be realistic" Ruto's message sparks debate at the Africa Forward Summit.

Ajouté : 2026-05-12

[00:00:01]The current international financial system remains structurally unequal.

[00:00:09]African countries continue to face disproportionately high borrowing costs, constrained access to concessional financing, and distorted risk perceptions that are frequently disconnected from economic realities that exist in this continent.

[00:00:28]The bias embedded within global credit rating systems continue to penalize African economies, increase the cost of capital, and discourage long-term investment into productive sectors.

[00:00:43]This imbalance is neither sustainable nor just.

[00:00:48]It is one of the principal constraints on Africa's ability to finance infrastructure, industrialization, climate adaptation, and economic transformation at the scale that is required.

[00:01:02]That is why Africa has supported the establishment of the African Credit Rating Agency, an important step towards ensuring fairer, evidence-based, and context-sensitive assessment of African economies and investment opportunities.

[00:01:26]Its purpose is not to replace existing global institutions, but to correct long-standing distortions in risk perception that continue to increase the cost of capital for African countries, and continue to discourage long-term investment into productive sectors.

[00:01:45]At the same time, we must recognize that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund alone cannot finance Africa's development ambition.

[00:01:57]We have to be realistic.

[00:01:59]Even as reform efforts continue, the scale of Africa's transformation requires us to rethink the sources, structures, and instruments of development finance itself.

[00:02:16]Africa must increasingly finance Africa.

[00:02:21]Let me repeat that.

[00:02:23]Africa must increasingly finance Africa.

[00:02:32]What do I mean?

[00:02:34]Across our continent, enormous pools of domestic capital remain underutilized.

[00:02:42]Africa today holds more than $4 trillion in long-term in long-term domestic savings, including over $1 trillion in pensions and insurance assets, and more than $500 billion in central bank reserves.

[00:03:04]I am not talking about Europe. I'm talking about Africa.

[00:03:08]Yet, paradoxically, while this capital exists within African economies, governments across our continent continue to struggle to finance critical infrastructure, transport corridors, energy systems, industrial parks, logistics networks, and even affordable housing.

[00:03:31]There is capital in Africa, but Africa's development projects remain starved of financing.

[00:03:42]The issue, therefore, is not liquidity.

[00:03:47]It is risk architecture.

[00:03:50]That is why Africa is laying the foundation of a stronger, more resilient, and more self-sustaining financial architecture.

[00:04:03]Kenya therefore reaffirms its very strong support for the Alliance of African multilateral financial institutions as a strategic flat platform for coordinating capital mobilization, risk sharing, and project execution across our continent.