Africa must deploy Sh260 trillion savings into industry, Ruto tells summit
NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 23 — William Ruto has called for accelerated regional integration and the mobilisation of African capital to drive industrialisation, as a new continental report shows the continent now holds more domestic capital than external financing flows.
Speaking at the Africa We Build Summit in Nairobi, Ruto said Africa must move decisively to connect its fragmented resource base through infrastructure and coordinated policy frameworks to unlock shared economic growth.
“Our countries possess complementary endowments, including natural resources in one country, energy resources in another country, and an optimal location for industrial processing in the next country,” he said.
“These must be connected through infrastructure—roads, rail, ports and electricity grids—so that raw materials and intermediate goods can move freely across borders.”
Ruto said integration must extend beyond infrastructure to ensure equitable distribution of benefits across member states.
His remarks follow findings from the State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2026 released at the summit by the Africa Finance Corporation, which point to a structural shift in the continent’s development financing landscape.
According to the report, Africa’s non-bank domestic capital pools have surpassed $2 trillion (Sh260 trillion), exceeding the approximately $1.7 trillion (Sh221 trillion) in cumulative external flows recorded between 2014 and 2024.
It further shows that pension and insurance assets have crossed $1 trillion (Sh130 trillion) for the first time, while central bank reserves rose to $530 billion (Sh68.9 trillion) in 2025—highlighting growing financial depth across the continent.
Ruto said the shift demands a new approach anchored on African-led financing.
He also announced that Kenya will increase its equity investment in the Africa Finance Corporation by Sh3.25 billion as the institution establishes a regional office in Nairobi.
The report notes that while capital availability is no longer the primary constraint, Africa faces a growing challenge in deploying these resources into bankable infrastructure and industrial projects.
Ruto echoed the concern, calling for deliberate efforts to build integrated industrial platforms across regions, drawing parallels with the evolution of the European Union.
The report identifies integrated infrastructure systems—linking energy, transport, industry and digital networks—as the most significant opportunity for large-scale capital deployment. In East Africa, projects such as transport corridors and cross-border energy interconnections are already demonstrating the potential of coordinated regional systems.
However, declining external financing continues to reinforce the urgency of this shift. Official development assistance to Africa fell to Sh9.6 trillion in 2023 from Sh10.9 trillion in 2020, with further declines expected, while sovereign borrowing remains subdued.