Africa Must Compete for $120 Trillion Global Private Capital, Says Oyedele

Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has called on African nations to aggressively reposition themselves to attract a share of the more than $120 trillion in global private capital seeking investment opportunities. He argued that the continent’s future prosperity cannot be built on foreign aid or borrowing alone.

Oyedele made the remarks in a post on his official X handle on Wednesday night. He reflected on key conversations from the recently concluded Africa Forward Summit held in Nairobi, Kenya. The summit gathered African finance ministers, development economists, and multilateral officials. Reform of the international financial architecture was at the centre of the agenda.

“Africa’s future will not be built on dependency, but on productivity, integration, and value creation,” Oyedele wrote.

At the heart of his message was a sharp critique of what he called a “prejudice premium.” This is the inflated cost of capital that African sovereigns and businesses face. He said it is driven not by fundamental economic risk but by unfair and structurally biased risk assessment from international creditors and rating agencies. Oyedele argued that this premium is a material drag on Africa’s ability to industrialise and compete globally.

The minister identified four structural barriers in the current global financial system that hold the continent back. These are high borrowing costs that price out productive investment, restrictive financing terms that limit fiscal flexibility, limited access to long-term capital for infrastructure and industry, and inadequate financing for productivity enhancement and value addition.

Oyedele stressed that Africa cannot place the entire blame on external actors. He said the continent must do more domestically to create conditions that attract and retain private capital. “Africa must also do more internally to strengthen governance and policy stability, create investment-friendly systems, respect contracts and the rule of law, and deepen regional integration,” he said.

On regional integration, Oyedele was unequivocal. He warned that Africa’s continued fragmentation into small, siloed national markets makes the continent structurally uncompetitive in a global economy built on scale. He argued that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and similar frameworks must be accelerated. They need practical teeth, particularly in harmonising regulatory standards, easing cross-border capital flows, and building regional value chains.

The minister also outlined what he sees as the correct financing model for the continent’s next phase of development. He called for Africa to mobilise its own savings, including the fast-growing pool of domestic pension assets. These should be channelled into productive sectors rather than sitting in low-yield instruments or flowing out of the continent. African pension assets under management have grown substantially over the past decade. Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Egypt have some of the largest pools.

“With over $120 trillion in global private capital seeking opportunities, Africa must position itself as an investment destination, not just a development conversation,” Oyedele said.

He also called for a fundamental reorientation in the purpose of external financing directed at Africa. He argued that international capital, both public development finance and private investment, has for too long focused on extracting raw materials or plugging emergency fiscal gaps. It has not focused on enabling the structural transformation that would eventually make such financing unnecessary. He said the focus must shift decisively towards value addition, infrastructure development, skills and human capital investment, regional value chains, and the adoption of technology and innovation. These areas would generate the productivity gains necessary to place African economies on a self-sustaining growth trajectory.

The remarks carry particular resonance given Nigeria’s own fiscal position. Africa’s largest economy by gross domestic product has grappled with a heavy debt servicing burden, a widening infrastructure deficit, and persistent pressure on its sovereign credit ratings. The Tinubu administration has framed its ongoing tax reform agenda, which Oyedele has been central in designing, partly as a strategy to reduce dependence on borrowing by broadening the domestic revenue base.