African multilateral financial institutions and policymakers have called for a fundamental shift in how investment in the continent’s digital economy is structured and financed, warning that current models are leaving critical sectors chronically underfunded.
The push came from a high-level session held on April 1 in Tangier, Morocco, on the sidelines of the 58th Session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, under the theme “Financing for Innovation: The Role of African Multilateral Financial Institutions in Accelerating Africa’s Technological and Economic Transformation.”
Senior representatives from governments, African multilateral financial institutions, and development partners examined how to mobilise long-term, affordable capital for digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and innovation-led sectors, and despite the rapid expansion of Africa’s digital economy, participants underscored that access to affordable, long-term financing remains a binding constraint.
Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist at UNECA, framed the challenge as one of financing architecture rather than ideas. “Africa’s innovation challenge is not a shortage of ideas, but a shortage of long-term, affordable, and well-structured financing. Addressing this will be critical to unlocking productivity, job creation, and structural transformation across the continent,” she said.
Haytham Elmaayergi, Executive Vice President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), pointed to a structural problem beyond the question of capital availability. “One of Africa’s key challenges is not a lack of capital, but a shortage of bankable projects and stronger institutional collaboration to scale investment,” he said, highlighting gaps in project preparation and weak coordination among institutions as key factors slowing the flow of funds into innovation-led sectors.
Participants called for wider adoption of blended finance and risk-sharing instruments, including guarantees and co-financing mechanisms, to better match the risk profiles of early-stage technology investments. Adeniran Aderogba noted that technology investments present unique structuring challenges, calling for more creative financing models and dedicated funds to support innovation at its earliest and most vulnerable stages.
Robert Lisinge broadened the discussion beyond digital platforms, arguing that financing innovation required parallel investment across the full infrastructure ecosystem, including energy and connectivity, to support digital services at scale.
The conference was convened under the overarching theme “Growth through innovation: harnessing data and frontier technologies for the economic transformation of Africa,” reflecting growing continental urgency around digital sovereignty and technology-driven development. The session was organised by the Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions and its partners as part of broader efforts to position African lenders at the centre of financing the continent’s technological transformation.
