State of Africa's Infrastructure Report 2025
Mobilising Domestic Capital
The State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report is the Africa Finance Corporation’s flagship publication, offering a bold and data-driven view of the continent’s financing and infrastructure development financing landscape. This year’s edition underscores a powerful yet underexplored truth: Africa already holds over $1.1 trillion in domestic capital—from pension and insurance funds to public development banks and sovereign wealth funds. At a time when global capital is constrained and Africa’s needs are urgent, the report reframes the conversation—showing that unlocking these internal resources is not just possible, but essential. After making the case for unlocking domestic capital pools, the report returns to Africa’s core infrastructure sectors—energy, transport and logistics, industry, and digital infrastructure—to highlight actionable opportunities for transformation, regional integration, and scale.
Press release
Our Key Findings
Energy
Africa’s energy transformation is both an urgent necessity and a massive investment opportunity. The continent must shift from fragmented generation toward interconnected systems for economic sovereignty, manufacturing competitiveness, and Africa’s place in the global data economy.
- Africa's energy future is about building the integrated energy systems that will power its industrial transformation, not just connect 600 million people to electricity. These systems must make full use of Africa's vast and diverse energy resources - from the world's largest untapped hydropower and geothermal reserves, to abundant solar irradiation, wind corridors and newly discovered gas.
Africa needs to scale—urgently and decisively. In 2024, the continent added over 6.5 GW of utility-scale capacity to its grid. By comparison, India added 18 GW in renewables alone, and the United States added 48.6 GW. To meet its development goals, Africa must double or triple its annual energy buildout. This is not just an infrastructure challenge—it is a strategic economic imperative.
Building integrated African grids is no longer aspirational—it is essential. Cross-border interconnectors and regional power markets are key to unlocking scale, attracting investment, and stabilising supply. The priority now is to mobilise finance for intra-pool transmission links—to strengthen existing regional power pools—and inter-pool interconnections that can lay the foundation for a truly continental power system.
Our roadmap to energy projects bankability and private capital mobilisation:
1. Establish clear route-to-market frameworks for renewables
2. Align fiscal tools with least-cost energy outcomes
3. Prioritise transmission upgrades to unlock stranded capacity
4. Balance tariff reform with long-term viability
5. Aggregate and scale project pipelines
6. Unbundle utilities and enhance fiscal autonomy
Transport & Logistics
Africa’s ability to move goods and people reliably and efficiently is central to its industrialisation and trade ambitions. A new cycle of infrastructure development is underway—but it must be more integrated, investor-driven, and future-focused.
Africa is entering a third wave of port privatisation – characterised by new investment partners and increased hinterland trade facilitation. To be competitive and serve as efficient regional gateways, ports must make better use of technology and enhance the maintenance and operations of common marine infrastructure.
Railway investment is picking up across the continent, with new models that prioritise private capital, anchor industries, and regional trade corridors. Projects like the Lobito Corridor are unlocking mineral wealth while supporting new agricultural and fuel supply chains. To map out sector dynamic and opportunities, the AFC has launched a digital infrastructure map of African railways, available at https://map.africafc.org/.
Road infrastructure remains a high-need, high-impact investment area—especially in particularly for landlocked and hinterland agricultural centres. Updated data reveals sharp disparities in road quality and density, with limited private participation outside of mining corridors. Policy reforms, including viable PPP frameworks and corridor-based tolling models, are needed to attract investment in road rehabilitation and rural connectivity.
Airports offer untapped potential to overcome Africa’s vast geography and boost intra-African trade—particularly through upgrades to cargo handling, customs efficiency, and air freight logistics.
Value additions
Africa’s industrial future depends on turning raw materials into value-added products. This year’s report focuses on refining, fertilisers, and steel—three sectors that must sit at the heart of Africa’s structural transformation. Each reflects a strategic convergence of urgent needs (energy and food security), natural advantages (gas and strategic minerals), and industrial opportunity. Together, they also account for some of the largest and most persistent items in Africa’s import basket, making them foundational to building a more self-sufficient, resilient, and competitive African economy.
Steel is becoming Africa’s industrial imperative. Without it, the continent cannot build its infrastructure or expand its manufacturing base. Considering the upcoming surge in African iron ore production, a continental steel strategy is needed to link upstream resources in West Africa with downstream value chains.
Fertilisers are the next frontier. Africa is uniquely endowed with the three key inputs: phosphates (North and West Africa), gas to develop new regional urea production centers (Senegal, Angola, Tanzania, Mozambique), and potash (Horn of Africa, Morocco, Congo). By tapping into these resources, regional hubs can transform food security and agro-industrial competitiveness while building competitive trade supply-chains.
The oil refining sector offers a critical opportunity to build Africa’s energy security. Brownfield investments—estimated at $16 billion—are urgently needed to upgrade existing refineries, enhance operational efficiency, and ensure compliance with cleaner fuel standards and environmental sustainability. At the same time, new greenfield refining capacity must be developed to meet projected demand and reduce reliance on imported fuels. To ensure energy self-sufficiency, future refining hubs must be backed by robust coastal storage facilities, pipeline networks, and rail logistics—enabling efficient distribution across borders and into landlocked markets.
Digital infrastructure
Africa’s digital transformation is gaining pace—the challenge now is to connect the unconnected, scale the infrastructure backbone, and build inclusive digital economies.
The landing of ultra-modern subsea cables is unlocking massive bandwidth potential across Africa’s coastlines. Available capacity provides fresh grounds to anchor middle-mile infrastructure—including terrestrial fibre, Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), and regional data centres. Developing this infrastructure is essential to building Africa’s digital sovereignty and competing in cloud computing, AI, and next-generation services.
Affordability is the first barrier—but not the last. Beyond cheaper data, Africa must liberalise markets, improve digital literacy, and promote ecosystems that enable meaningful technology use.
Connectivity gaps are most acute in rural areas, where usage remains far below urban averages. Crowdfunding and community financing are emerging as practical tools to extend access.
Digital public infrastructure and shared infrastructure models are unlocking new investment pathways. Public-private collaboration around DPI (e.g., digital ID, e-payments) and infrastructure sharing (e.g., fibre on power lines or railways) offers high-impact, scalable opportunities. These models reduce costs, expand service reach, and are gaining traction across the continent. To maximise these benefits, the time has come for a continent-wide commitment to multi-use corridors.
Our digital inclusion agenda:
1. Target rural connectivity gaps — Narrowing the rural–urban divide is the single biggest lever to reduce Africa’s internet access deficit, especially in countries where rural populations exceed 60–70%.
2. Scale infrastructure investment — Africa expands its fibre backbone and last-mile connectivity through greater public–private investment and infrastructure sharing.
3. Roll out a phased liberalisation of digital markets — A well-calibrated opening of telecom sectors to competition and foreign investment can rapidly accelerate network coverage, as seen in Ethiopia’s post-monopoly surge.
4. Harmonise digital policy — Coordinated legislation on data sovereignty, protection, and interoperability is essential to unlock private capital and scale.
5. Boost digital skills and DPI — Investing in digital literacy and public digital infrastructure (like e-ID and payments) will drive inclusion, job creation, and productivity.