President William Ruto has urged African nations to reconsider their development financing approaches by mobilizing domestic resources and restructuring their financial systems, transitioning from aid reliance and unsustainable debt to achieve lasting prosperity.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the Africa Forward Summit 2026 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre on Tuesday, May 12, President Ruto stated that organizations like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund are insufficient alone to advance Africa’s development objectives.
The Kenyan president emphasized that Africa needs a fresh strategic approach centered on investment, innovation, internal resource mobilization, and partnerships based on mutual sovereignty to reestablish the continent’s position in international affairs.
He highlighted that Africa holds abundant natural resources, essential minerals, arable land, significant renewable energy capacity, growing consumer bases, innovative business minds, and the world’s youngest demographic. The continent’s needs, he said, are not charitable donations but investments; not resource exploitation but value generation; not reliance but collaborative relationships that can create common wealth.
Ruto further stressed that the Africa Forward Agenda aims to reshape collaboration between Africa and international partners like France by abandoning outdated assistance models that restrict the continent’s capacity to fund its aspirations at necessary levels.
The Kenyan leader indicated that the existing global financial framework continues to place African economies at a disadvantage through elevated borrowing expenses, restricted access to favorable financing terms, and inaccurate risk assessments.
He described the contemporary global financial structure as fundamentally unbalanced. African nations persistently encounter excessive borrowing rates, limited availability of concessional funding, and risk evaluations that often diverge from actual economic conditions. The inherent bias in international credit rating mechanisms continues to disadvantage African economies, escalate capital expenses, and deter long-term investment in productive industries.
The Head of State also endorsed the proposed New African Financial Architecture and Development framework (NAFAD), stating that Africa needs unified financial capacity able to support infrastructure development, industrial advancement, trade routes, and energy transitions on the continent’s own terms.
The president clarified that this initiative aims to direct African resources through retirement funds, development institutions, and private investments toward strategic and transformative sectors throughout the continent.
NAFAD embodies Africa’s unified endeavor to establish financial autonomy by coordinating continental institutions and agendas,” he stated.
President Ruto mentioned that Kenya has started putting elements of this vision into practice by creating the National Infrastructure Fund, designed to direct local capital into important national initiatives.
He pointed out that with robust institutions, consistent policies, and reliable markets, Africa can create significant development resources internally while allowing citizens to engage directly in national development.
The Africa Forward Summit 2026, jointly hosted by Kenya and France, has gathered government leaders, cabinet members, corporate executives, innovators, and influential thinkers from throughout Africa and France to explore innovation, cooperation, and economic advancement.