• Africa50 urges DFIs to adopt speed KPIs after cutting its project development timeline to 3.5 years, far below the 7–10-year norm.
• CEO Alain Ebobissé says slow approvals worsen Africa’s $130–170bn infrastructure gap, with only 10% of projects reaching financial close.
• At AIF, Africa50 highlighted asset recycling, a Kenya transmission deal, and a $400m fund mobilizing African pension and sovereign capital.

Africa50 has called on development finance institutions (DFIs) to adopt the speed of execution as a formal performance indicator, arguing that Africa cannot address its infrastructure backlog while project development takes close to a decade. Speaking at the African Investment Forum (AIF) in Rabat, CEO Alain Ebobissé revealed that Africa50 has cut its average project development timeline to 3.5 years from identification to financial close. He urged institutions such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank to commit to similar targets. This disclosure, made publicly for the first time, underscores his longstanding concern that slow institutional processes are undermining Africa’s infrastructure ambitions.

Ebobissé noted that traditional DFIs often take 7 to 10 years to move projects through the approval process, a delay he described as incompatible with the continent’s development needs. Africa faces a $130–170 billion annual infrastructure gap, according to the African Development Bank, and coordination failures among DFIs, governments, and private players contribute to an estimated $60 billion shortfall every year. Reports also show that only 10% of feasibility-stage projects on the continent reach financial close, mainly due to protracted reviews, opaque tendering processes, and rising sovereign debt constraints. By treating speed as a KPI, Ebobissé argued, institutions would align incentives, reduce bottlenecks, and unlock larger volumes of capital—particularly from African pension funds and sovereign wealth funds that collectively manage $2.3 trillion, but remain marginally invested in local infrastructure.

Ebobissé highlighted that Africa50 has built its model around faster, more disciplined execution. Since its launch in 2016, the platform has expanded from two to five investment vehicles, with seven expected by 2026, and has financed 33 projects across 34 countries, catalyzing $4.4 billion in additional capital. He stressed that the shorter timelines are not the result of easier projects, but of selective yet challenging pipelines handled through streamlined governance and a focus on equity rather than debt. “We choose complex projects, but we move quickly and without compromising rigor,” he said, positioning Africa50 as a performance benchmark for the continent’s infrastructure ecosystem.

Ebobissé also used his address to present three initiatives demonstrating Africa50’s expanding scope. The institution has completed Africa’s first asset recycling transaction with the Sénégambie Bridge linking Senegal and The Gambia, freeing around $100 million in fiscal space for the governments. Negotiations are underway with Zambia on the Kazungula Bridge, which could unlock an additional $200 million in funding. Africa50 is also finalizing the continent’s first independent transmission project, a significant concession in Kenya developed in partnership with the Trade and Development Bank (TDB). With 600 million Africans still lacking reliable electricity and grid losses averaging 20%, Ebobissé described transmission as the next frontier for private investment in African energy systems.

A third area of focus highlighted is the mobilization of African institutional capital. Africa50’s Acceleration Fund has raised $400 million from 22 Limited Partners, including 20 African investors such as pension funds and sovereign wealth funds. Given that only 3% of African pension assets are invested locally, compared with roughly 50% in emerging Asia, Ebobissé said this approach is essential for building long-term, sustainable financing for infrastructure.

His remarks come at a time when Africa’s infrastructure pipeline remains heavily delayed despite significant commitments from global initiatives such as the EU’s Global Gateway and the G7’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment. Weak regulatory frameworks, slow environmental reviews, and debt pressures continue to hold back project preparation across the continent. Ebobissé argued that institutions capable of moving at the pace Africa50 has demonstrated will play a central role in unblocking these bottlenecks and accelerating project delivery across energy, transport, and digital sectors.

Idriss Linge