Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has called for urgent reforms to the global financial system, warning that African economies remain constrained by structural barriers that limit access to affordable capital and industrial growth.
Oyedele spoke on the sidelines of the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, where he said African countries continue to face what he described as a “prejudice premium” that increases borrowing costs and discourages long-term investment across the continent.
According to the minister, the current global financial architecture continues to disadvantage African economies through restrictive lending conditions, limited access to long-term financing, and inadequate support for productivity and value addition.
“Africa must position itself as a competitive investment destination, not merely a recipient of development assistance,” Oyedele said in a statement shared on his official X handle on Wednesday.
He stressed that Africa’s industrialisation ambitions would remain limited unless governments and international financial institutions address long-standing financing gaps affecting infrastructure, manufacturing, technology, and regional trade.
Oyedele also urged African governments to strengthen domestic systems by improving governance, ensuring policy consistency, enforcing contracts, and deepening regional integration.
He warned that fragmented markets across the continent weaken Africa’s competitiveness in a global economy increasingly driven by scale and economic cooperation.
The minister further called on African countries to mobilise domestic savings, including pension funds, to support investments in productive sectors.
“With more than 120 trillion dollars in global private capital searching for opportunities, Africa must create stronger pathways for investment into productive sectors,” he said.
Oyedele said financing priorities across the continent should shift from raw material extraction and crisis response to infrastructure development, innovation, skills acquisition, technology, and regional value chains.
According to him, Africa’s long-term economic growth will depend on productivity, integration, and value creation rather than dependence on external support.
Meanwhile, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, speaking at the summit, said Nigeria’s growing economic relationship with France must translate into measurable development outcomes.
Tinubu noted that trade between Nigeria and France reached $4.7 billion in 2025, underscoring the need for stronger economic partnerships that deliver sustainable growth.
