President William Ruto has called on Africa to rethink how it finances its development through the mobilisation of domestic resources and a reformed financial structure, moving away from aid dependency and unsustainable borrowing for long-term prosperity.
Speaking during the opening session of the Africa Forward Summit 2026 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre on Tuesday, May 12, President Ruto said institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund alone are not enough to drive Africa’s development agenda.
President Ruto noted that Africa requires a new strategic framework guided by investment, innovation, domestic resource mobilisation and strategic partnerships built on sovereign equality in order to restore the continent’s place in the global order.
“Our continent possesses vast natural resources, critical minerals, fertile land, immense renewable energy potential, expanding consumer markets, dynamic entrepreneurs, and the youngest population in the world. What Africa requires is not charity, but investments; not extraction, but value creation; not dependency, but mutually beneficial partnerships capable of unlocking shared prosperity,” he stated.
The President further emphasized that the Africa Forward Agenda seeks to redefine engagement between Africa and global partners such as France by moving away from outdated aid models that continue to limit the continent’s ability to finance its ambitions at the scale required.
According to Ruto, the current international financial system continues to disadvantage African economies through high borrowing costs, limited access to concessional financing and distorted risk perceptions.
“The current international financial system remains structurally unequal. African countries continue to face disproportionately high borrowing costs, constrained access to concessional financing, and distorted risk perceptions frequently disconnected from economic realities. The bias embedded within global credit rating systems continues to penalise African economies, increase the cost of capital, and discourage long-term investment into productive sectors,” he said.
The Head of State also backed the proposed New African Financial Architecture and Development framework (NAFAD), saying Africa requires coordinated financial firepower capable of financing infrastructure, industrialisation, trade corridors and energy transformation on African terms.
He explained that the framework seeks to align African capital through pension systems, development banks and private investment into strategic and transformative sectors across the continent.
“NAFAD represents Africa’s collective effort to build financial sovereignty by aligning African institutions and African priorities,” he said.
President Ruto added that Kenya has already begun implementing aspects of the vision through the establishment of the National Infrastructure Fund aimed at channeling domestic capital into strategic national projects.
He noted that through strong institutions, predictable policies and trusted markets, Africa can generate substantial development resources internally while enabling citizens to become active participants in nation-building.
The Africa Forward Summit 2026, co-hosted by Kenya and France, has brought together heads of state, ministers, CEOs, innovators and thought leaders from across Africa and France to discuss innovation, partnerships and economic growth.
