Financing Africa’s Digital Future: Institutions Push for Smarter, Coordinated Funding

An expert panel segment during the Fifty-eighth session of the Economic Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, held from 28 March to 3 April 2026 in Tangier, Morocco. Credit: UNECAOpinion by United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (addis ababa, ethiopia)Thursday, July 30, 2026Inter Press Service ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, July 30 (IPS) - Africa’s digital revolution is gathering pace, but the financing needed to sustain it remains uneven, fragmented, and often out of reach. To bridge this gap, African multilateral financial institutions, policymakers, development partners, and private sector leaders are calling for a more coordinated, innovative, and better-structured financing approach to support Africa’s digital and technological transformation.That was the central message from policymakers, financiers and development partners who convened on the sidelines of the 58th session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, held in Morocco in April 2026.Their conclusion was clear: Africa does not lack capital—it lacks the right kind of ...