Africa has over $1 trillion in pension savings. The AfDB wants more of it working at home
Under president Sidi Ould Tah, the African Development Bank is backing the continent's own development lenders. An ODI Global economist says the early signs are positive.
Abidjan — African pension funds hold more than US$1 trillion in assets, according to a recent African Development Bank (AfDB) report, and much of that money is invested outside the continent. Bringing more of it home is at the centre of a new agenda led by the bank's president, Sidi Ould Tah, who took office in 2025.
Chris Humphrey, a senior research associate at ODI Global and a former World Bank and AfDB staffer, writes that the plan, called the New African Financial Architecture for Development, was backed at the African Union summit in February 2026 and adopted by the bank in May.
Building up African lenders
The bank is putting money and support behind other African development finance institutions. It joined the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development as a shareholder and approved a US$70 million credit line; Moody's raised that bank's rating by one notch in August. It signed an agreement to support the Development Bank of Central African States, and raised its stake in the African Trade Insurance Agency from 3% to 14%, helping to bring in Germany and France as shareholders.
New tools coming
By the end of 2026, the AfDB plans to start investing in hybrid capital, a bond-like instrument that counts as equity, issued by regional lenders. It is also working with the Development Bank of Southern Africa on a platform to package loans into tradeable securities, freeing room for new lending.
Humphrey points to the Development Bank of Latin America, which began small in 1970 and now carries an AA+ rating and issues bonds in 23 currencies. Humphrey argues the same is possible for Africa's own institutions.
Source: The Conversation, 9 November 2026.
