French President Emmanuel Macron has underscored the critical role played by private investors in accelerating the Africa-Europe agenda.
Addressing Heads of State, Diplomats, Business Leaders, and Investors during the 2026 Africa Forward Summit at KICC in Nairobi, the French leader revealed that investors attending the 2026 Africa Forward Summit had pledged €23 billion in investments in Africa.
He said the commitments include €14 billion from French companies investing in African countries and €9 billion from African businesses and investors, describing the pledges as proof that the summit was the “Summit for Action”.
“For the first time ever, and thanks to this business forum, private investors, business investors, and entirely private investment funds pledged €23 billion in investments in Africa. This achievement illustrates the power of a summit for action,” he said.
He challenged African nations to move away from traditional donor-recipient models (aid dependency) towards shared investment in industry, infrastructure, energy, innovation, and youth development.
“What we want to do is not to bring aid. That approach is a thing of the past. The approach we must now embrace is one of co-investment and equal partnership,” he said.
Macron said co-investment should focus on moving up the value chain by strengthening agriculture and industry so that Africa is not only a source of raw materials, critical minerals, and rare earths but also a hub for processing and industrial production.
He said the co-investment must support Africa’s infrastructure, including energy transformation, talent, the formal economy, and accelerated value chains.
“The Africa Forward agenda for growth and prosperity is the one we want to support through investment. This is where we will find our place in this agenda for prosperity and sovereignty,” he reiterated.
“These factors will also guide our discussions on health, agriculture, the blue economy, and artificial intelligence,” he stressed.
The French leader added that Africa’s economic success and its achievement of greater sovereignty and autonomy will ensure that Europeans enjoy greater strategic autonomy through this partnership and reduce our dependency.
Macron said Africa’s success in sectors such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), agriculture, and industry would strengthen Europe’s future by creating alternative economic solutions, expanding opportunities for young people, and reducing involuntary migration caused by unemployment, which therefore results in brain drain.
He noted that strong African economies would help address shared global challenges while supporting a strategic agenda through a balanced and mutually beneficial partnership.
“If you are successful in sovereignty in artificial intelligence, agriculture, and industry, you are helping support our success because you are offering other solutions and a future to your people,” he told the heads of state.
Macron urged African leaders to “get back to basics” by adopting a new growth model focused on stronger strategies for natural resources, agriculture, and industrial development, backed by fiscal policies aligned with that agenda.
To strengthen Africa’s financial systems, Macron announced that France will support the African Trade & Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI), based in Nairobi, to help unlock finance and expand investment guarantees across the continent.
He also called for better mobilisation of international financing to support Africa’s development priorities.
Macron said the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank had helped remobilise more than 100 billion special drawing rights for Africa to strengthen financing and investment across the continent.
“The IMF and the World Bank, which in recent years have allocated special drawing rights, with Kristalina, together remobilised over 100 billion special drawing rights for Africa to better use and leverage these funds,” he said.
He added that France would support the ATIDI through capital investment aimed at building an Africa-wide first-loss guarantee mechanism to unlock more funding for development projects.
“The aim is to build an Africa-wide first loss guarantee strategy and support the instrument known today as the ATIDI, based in Nairobi,” he revealed.
According to Macron, the initiative forms part of a new financial model designed to advance Africa’s prosperity and strategic autonomy.
He added that “It is precisely this that France commits to supporting alongside you through ATIDI capital investment to co-develop solutions so ATIDI can fulfil its role for the whole of Africa and cover first losses.”
The strategy is part of a new financial paradigm, one which will make it possible for Africa to achieve prosperity and gain strategic autonomy.
He noted that the agenda would be presented at the upcoming G7 Summit in Évian and further presented at global institutions, including the United Nations, the IMF, and the World Bank.
“With President Ruto, we will represent our shared agenda on your behalf at the G7 Summit in Évian. Throughout the year, we will see this agenda through at the United Nations, the IMF, and the World Bank on the basis of the mandate you have given us. This is also why this summit will allow us to tackle the challenges ahead of us,” he promised.
The French leader added that Africa and Europe are facing similar challenges around peace, prosperity, and sovereignty, arguing that both continents must work together to build strategic autonomy in an increasingly polarised global order.
“Africa wants peace, prosperity, and sovereignty. Europe wants peace, prosperity, and sovereignty,” Macron said. “The partnership we want from this Africa Forward Summit is one that serves peace, prosperity, and strategic autonomy.”
He noted that Europe was seeking to build balanced partnerships based on international law, multilateralism, and economic cooperation.
Macron supported the calls for greater African representation in global governance institutions, including permanent representation at the United Nations Security Council. He also reaffirmed
“France supports this agenda whereby Africa is present on the United Nations Security Council. Just as we fought for the African Union to have a permanent seat at the G20 a few years ago and won that seat,” he said.
Macron said Africa’s unity, better representation in global institutions, and enhanced peace and security capabilities were essential for lasting stability across the continent. He added that Europe was ready to stand alongside African states in financing African-led peace and security solutions.
“The unity of the African continent, better representation, African peace and security capabilities, and a Europe that stands with you to help finance these peace and security solutions,” Macron said, are key to achieving peace across Africa.
In closing remarks on economic reforms, Macron said Africa’s future prosperity would depend on investing in human capital, expanding formal economies, industrialisation, and value addition rather than exporting raw materials.
By Ian Chepkuto
