Africa Prosperity Dialogues 2025 Compact Calls For A Dollar-A-Day Fund By Africans For Infrastructure To Connect Africa

The Africa Prosperity Network (APN) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat today unveiled a groundbreaking Infrastructure Compact, marking a decisive step for Africans to take into their own hands the destiny of financing Africa’s all-important economic integration agenda.

A highlight of the Compact is an ambitious initiative to mobilise a critical mass of Africans, targeting some 100 million people, to invest as little as US$1 a day into a special infrastructure fund, sponsored by the AfCFTA Secretariat. This fund will be dedicated to financing the building of major, connecting infrastructure projects – including energy, transport and digital – that are needed to facilitate the transformation and integration of the continent’s 55 economies into the world’s largest single market.

The 2025 edition of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD), an AfCFTA-focused annual gathering of Africa’s decision-makers, was held from 30 January to 1 February 2025 at the Accra International Conference Centre, Accra, under the theme: “Delivering Africa’s Single Market Through Infrastructure: Invest. Connect. Integrate.” The summit convened prominent African leaders and policymakers to address critical infrastructure challenges facing the continent.

The distinguished guests present included:
⮚ H.E. John Dramani Mahama, President of Ghana (host country of the AfCFTA
Secretariat and APN)
⮚ H.E. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, President of Togo
⮚ H.E. Azali Assoumani, President of the Union of Comoros
⮚ H.E. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, Vice-President of Ghana
⮚ H.E. Wamkele Keabetswe Mene, AfCFTA Secretary General
⮚ Honourable Ibrahim Boughali, Speaker, People’s National Assembly, Algeria
⮚ Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, APN Advisory Council Chairperson
⮚ Dr Sidi Ould Tah, President of the Arab Bank for Economic Development
in Africa (BADEA)
⮚ Mr Mesfin Tasew Bekele, Group CEO, Ethiopian Airlines Group

The Infrastructure Compact outlines five transformative pillars for immediate implementation:

1. Transport and Logistics Integration: The framework prioritises the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) and addresses the 30-40% cost premium currently impacting intra-African trade. It advocates comprehensive air service liberalisation and the execution of Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy 2050.

2. Energy Security and Power Integration: Responding to widespread power reliability challenges affecting over 30 African nations, the Compact emphasises developing interconnected power grids and harmonised regional energy policies, with a special focus on multibillion-dollar strategic projects such as the Grand Inga Dam for hydropower and the exploration of using the Sahara and Kalahari Deserts for solar energy for Africa and beyond.

3. Digital Transformation: Building on the AU Protocol on Digital Trade and the report Scaling Up Interoperability for Economic Integration: Using Mobile Money to Buy and Sell Across Africa, the APD 2025 Compact establishes a five-year roadmap for achieving Pan-African mobile system interoperability, prioritising investments in broadband infrastructure, e-commerce platforms and unified regulatory frameworks to accelerate digital trade. It further calls on heads of state and government, policymakers, regulators and all key stakeholders to commit extensively to achieving the following:
a. Bring all member states on board the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) by 2027;
b. Using the Ghana interoperability model, enhance cross-platform integration to ensure seamless transactions between mobile money accounts, banks and other payment channels by 2027;
c. Allow cross-border mobile money interoperability across all AU regional blocs and in every member state by 2030.

4. Health Care and Social Infrastructure: Comprehensive recommendations focus on strengthening health-care systems through increased domestic pharmaceutical production capacity and digital health solutions, including integrated mobile payment and insurance platforms. Further call on all governments to prioritise STEAM education to equip young Africans with both entrepreneurial and employable skills to take advantage of AfCFTA.

5. Strategic Infrastructure Financing: The Compact introduces an innovative Integrated Africa Infrastructure Growth Fund targeting in excess of $2 trillion in mobilisation over its first decade and using, among other tools, a retail drive seeking A-Dollar-A-Day. Targeted investors will include Africa’s growing pool of middle-class people (including Global Africans), estimated to be a population of over 400 million, domestic capital markets, multilateral financial institutions, pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds, supported by streamlined regulations and risk mitigation mechanisms. “If 100 million Pan-Africanists, including people of African descent and friends of Africa, commit to investing as little as US$30 a month into a well-structured fund, under the auspices of the AfDB and others we have, that alone gives Africa $36.5 billion extra funds a year to help finance the railways and roads that will, within five years, comprehensively connect our continent from north to south and east to west,” says Asare Otchere-Darko, the Executive Chairman of APN.

Commitment to Action: Leaders Push for Implementation

Emphasising the need for urgent action, President John Mahama declared: “The decisions we make at this conference must not end in resolutions alone. We must act with urgency, determination and a shared vision for prosperity. Let us rise to the occasion, break down the barriers that divide us and build a strong, self-reliant and globally competitive Africa.”

Presidents Gnassingbé and Assoumani echoed this commitment, while AfCFTA Secretary General Wamkele Mene announced the AfCFTA Transit Guarantee Scheme, set to launch this year, as a key step in implementing the Compact’s recommendations.

The summit culminated in the ceremonial lighting of the Africa Trade Torch (ATT), an Africa Business Council-led private sector initiative, symbolising the commitment to mainstream AfCFTA benefits across African communities, with particular emphasis on SMEs, women-led enterprises and youth engagement.

Secretary General Wamkele Mene announced the imminent launch of the AfCFTA Transit Guarantee Scheme, demonstrating concrete progress towards implementing the Compact’s recommendations.
Dr Dlamini-Zuma highlighted Ghana’s mobile payment ecosystem as a potential blueprint for continental digital financial integration.

Sidig El Toum, APN’s Chief Executive Officer, highlighted the annual Africa Prosperity Dialogues as crucial in uniting Africans around a shared vision, driving collaborative action and ensuring that our solutions are both practical and impactful.

Towards a Prosperous Africa: APN’s Continued Commitment

As the organising body of APD, the Africa Prosperity Network (APN) remains steadfast in advancing the vision of the “Africa We Want”, in line with the AU Agenda 2063. Through platforms like the Africa Prosperity Dialogues, APN is driving Africa’s progress through collaboration, innovation and self-reliance – ending dependence on external aid.

The comprehensive framework emerged from the Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) 2025. The event attracted 5,000 participants from 46 countries, including African heads of state, industry leaders, CEOs, government ministers, policymakers, thought leaders and development partners. APN will hold a press conference on the sidelines of the 38th African Union (AU) Summit, which will convene on 15 and 16 February 2025 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, bringing together heads of state and government from all 55 AU member states, alongside leaders of international organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the private sector.

Signed
Communication Directorate
Africa Prosperity Network

For more details, visit: www.africaprosperitynetwork.com