ContextRemarks at the Africa Forward Summit in Kenya, with Presidents Ruto and Macron; the IMF advises and lends to its 191 members to keep the global economy stable.
Why it mattersSays closing half the governance gap with emerging markets could lift sub-Saharan output by up to 20 percent within a decade, and reports IMF concessional lending to Africa rising to $36 billion.
- Global imbalances divert capital away from Africa, where growth potential is highest.
- Debt burdens and weak investor trust limit Africa's access to global savings.
- Trade barriers keep African economies fragmented and less competitive.
- Build strong institutions, fight corruption and cut red tape to win investor trust.
- Remove tariff and non-tariff barriers under the continental free trade area.
- Restructure unsustainable debt and shift from borrowing towards equity financing.
Read the speech summary
1. Africa as the next growth engine
At the Africa Forward Summit in Kenya, Georgieva called Africa the place where the world will find its next growth engine, but in a world of widening imbalances: export-led economies squeeze room in supply chains, big deficit countries absorb a large share of capital, and the sharpest gap is demographic, with capital in ageing societies and growth potential in young ones.
2. What countries should do
Africa should use its own savings better and attract the vast global pools of equity and bond savings that now avoid the fastest-growing regions, through credible policy, action against corruption and less red tape. Removing trade barriers under the continental free trade area could raise income per head by over ten percent. Unsustainable debt should be restructured or reprofiled, unproductive borrowing avoided and financing moved from debt towards equity through deeper capital markets.
3. What the IMF does
Concessional lending to Africa has risen from eight to thirty-six billion dollars, helped by channelling reserve assets, and programmes are run as partnerships. The Fund is reforming the debt architecture, has added a third African seat on its board and is pushing for fairer representation. Good policies pay: closing half the gap with emerging markets in regulation and governance could raise sub-Saharan output by up to twenty percent within a decade.