Clement Chinaka | How finance and insurance can power Africa's economy

When 2,000 CEOs, investors, heads of state, and ministers gathered at the 2025 Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, a single call to action resonated loudly: a new deal is needed between the state and the private sector to give the continent a winning hand.

This comes as Africa looks to gain ground in an increasingly complex and competitive transactional world. A world where global trade wars are intensifying, capital flows are narrowing, and every country is being forced to redefine its path to sovereignty, resilience, and prosperity.

The conversations in Abidjan were not mere academic debates and blue-sky contemplations. They were urgent and real at this quarter century, where strategy sessions for Africa must be grounded in terms that are sustainable, relevant, and impactful. The stakes have never been higher, but neither have the opportunities. The continent stands at a rare inflexion point, where decisions made in the next decade will determine whether we remain on the periphery of global value chains or finally assert ourselves as a cohesive, sovereign, and industrial power.

Financial Services: Africa's Real Superpower

If there was one takeaway that resonated most deeply with me in Abidjan, it is this: the insurance and finance sector is not a bystander to Africa's development — it is the enabler. We are the ecosystem that gathers savings. We are the bridge that allocates capital to productive enterprises. We are the risk managers who underwrite bold businesses and ideas. We are the innovators that can drive fintech, insuretech, and AI solutions tailored for African realities to bring in more Africans to participate meaningfully in the formal economy.

But to play this role fully, we must also hold ourselves accountable: building stronger balance sheets, adopting world-class governance standards, innovating product design for African realities, and deepening financial literacy across every demographic.

The Forum made another truth crystal clear: Africa's public sector cannot carry the full weight of economic transformation. The cost of capital is rising globally, international aid is declining, and geopolitical volatility is causing investors to retreat to their home markets. Governments alone cannot finance Africa's development ambitions - they need a fully empowered, well-capitalised, and trusted private sector to co-drive growth.

This demands a new approach for Africa's private sector, anchored on three pillars:

• Mobilising Domestic Savings: Financial institutions must become aggressive aggregators of domestic capital, developing deep, liquid local capital markets that can fund infrastructure, energy, technology, and manufacturing projects without perpetual reliance on foreign debt.
• Policy Stability and Predictability: As many leaders noted in Abidjan, policy inconsistency remains one of Africa's most corrosive investment deterrents. Rwanda, Côte d'Ivoire, and a few others are proving that with stable, transparent regulatory environments, capital follows. Governments must create regulatory clarity that allows businesses to make long-term investments with confidence. The regulatory environment must be appropriate for the realities of our markets and not a "cut and paste" of regulatory frameworks from other markets that are at different stages of development to ours.
• Space for Private Innovation: From fintech to agri-insurance, from AI-powered digital IDs to 5G-enabled smart roads, Africa's most transformational breakthroughs will not come from ministries but from boardrooms. The state must enable, not crowd out, private innovation.

From Extraction to Transformation

The global trade wars have inadvertently handed Africa a chance to rethink its economic structure. The era of exporting raw commodities while importing expensive finished goods is over. As global supply chains fragment, Africa's competitiveness will depend on its ability to beneficiate locally.

The Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which featured heavily in Abidjan discussions, remains our most strategic tool. Africa is on a path to transition from being 54 small markets into fewer bigger trading blocks and ultimately into one continental block. But it will only succeed if supported by:

• Hard Infrastructure: No grid, no growth. Africa's industrialisation will fail without massive investments in energy (both renewable and traditional), transport corridors, logistics hubs, and digital connectivity.
• Soft Infrastructure: Trade harmonisation, customs simplification, and market-appropriate-harmonised regulatory standards must unlock intra-African trade. ECOWAS, SADC, and COMESA need to move beyond political aspirations toward enforceable, business-friendly economic frameworks.
• Sector Prioritisation: Strategic sectors — such as mining, agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, green energy, and automotive manufacturing — must receive targeted incentives to scale production, foster vertical integration, and capture value-add across the chain.

The financial sector has a critical role in structuring the project finance, insurance coverage, and risk-sharing instruments that will make this possible.

From Administrative State to Smart State

African citizens are increasingly demanding efficient, transparent government services  - and many governments are responding by digitising identity, tax, licensing, and regulatory processes. The Forum highlighted how AI-powered governance, smart traffic systems, e-passports, and mobile-first public services are no longer distant visions but active pilots across several states.

For the finance and insurance sector, this presents an enormous opportunity:

• Digital Identity Drives Financial Inclusion: Millions of unbanked citizens can now participate in formal financial services, expanding insurance penetration and mobilising new pools of savings.
• AI for Credit and Risk Modelling: AI-powered analytics allow for more accurate underwriting, credit scoring, and fraud detection, enabling insurers and lenders to better serve SMEs and emerging businesses.
• Public-Private Collaboration on Cybersecurity: As governments digitise, the financial sector must partner to secure data, protect infrastructure, and build consumer trust in digital platforms.

Africa may be a late mover in the digital revolution - but that may be our greatest strength. We are not burdened by legacy systems and can leapfrog directly into next-generation solutions.

Africa's Winning Hand

In this transactional world, the gloves are off. The rest of the world is playing hardball to defend its interests. Africa must now do the same -  but with discipline, unity, and a bold private sector at the helm.

The Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan has set the stage. The question now is not whether Africa can rise. The question is whether we, as leaders of industry, will seize this moment to make Africa truly sovereign, resilient, and prosperous.

*Clement Chinaka, is Managing Director: Old Mutual Africa Regions.