This high-level gathering convened heads of state, ministers, global investors, heads of multilateral development banks, and private sector leaders from Africa and beyond to deliberate on strategies to address one of the continent's most pressing challenges: transforming Africa's infrastructure ambitions into bankable, investment-ready projects.
The summit - which proceeded under the theme "Capital, Corridors, Trade: Investing in infrastructure for the AfCFTA and shared prosperity" - focused on four thematic areas. These included: Transport corridors, energy, digital transformation and water sanitation.
Africa faces an annual infrastructure financing deficit of between 68bn to 108bn, according to the African Development Bank AfDB. Yet despite the scale of the shortfall, delegates at the Luanda Financing Summit heard a consistent message from speakers: the capital to bridge this gap is available. What's missing are bankable projects and the policy and regulatory clarity needed to give investors confidence to write cheques.