Infrastructure is central to Africa’s economic transformation and to achieving the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Despite progress, gaps in financing, sustainability, and implementation capacity continue to hinder infrastructure development across the continent.
The Africa’s Development Dynamics 2025 report shows how to better target infrastructure investment in order to unlock faster growth and transformation. It estimates that, with average annual investments of USD 155 billion until 2040, African countries could reach the infrastructure levels of more advanced peers and double the continent’s GDP, surpassing the Agenda 2063 target of 7% annual GDP growth. The report also stresses the need to improve sovereign debt conditions, lower the cost of capital and develop climate-resilient infrastructure to limit losses and protect communities.
The report proposes three main policy recommendations:
- Focus on roads, railways, fibre-optic cables and solar power as cost-effective infrastructure types to drive trade and regional integration.
- Prioritise the most strategic infrastructure projects, like development corridors and urban infrastructure, especially in countries with low levels of development.
- Improve how infrastructure projects are governed, including by strengthening the skills and capacity of developers and government agencies.
