GCB Bank chair calls for urgent action on Africa’s infrastructure gap

Africa must urgently scale up investment to close its US$108 billion annual infrastructure gap, GCB Bank Board Chairman Prof. Joshua Alabi has said.

At a T20 side event held alongside the G20 Summit in South Africa, Prof. Alabi stressed that the continent’s development ambitions depend heavily on long-term financing, stronger partnerships and deliberate efforts to make major projects bankable.

He pointed to the need for African governments to deepen domestic capacity, support institutions that can manage large-scale financing, and embrace innovative models capable of reducing risk for both public and private investors.

Prof. Alabi referenced Ghana’s own experience through the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) as an example of how blended finance mechanisms can help attract significant capital while supporting national development priorities.

He said such models demonstrate that African countries can strengthen project preparation, improve investment readiness and mobilise broader support for infrastructure plans that often remain underfunded.

The African Think Tank for Infrastructure Development hosted the dialogue under the theme “Enhancing Africa’s Infrastructure Gap: Transformation Through Investment and Partnership.” Prof. Alabi contributed to the panel on “Building Sustainable Collaboration: De-risking and Blending for Bankability,” where he highlighted the urgency of reorganising financing strategies to meet infrastructure demands across key sectors such as energy, transport, water and digital systems.

The event brought together policymakers, financial experts and industry leaders who focused on the scale of the continent’s infrastructure challenge and the opportunities that exist in strengthening cooperation among African institutions.

Discussions centered on how investment partnerships, both domestic and international, can support economic transformation if structured around long-term sustainability and shared responsibility.

Participants included Maj. Gen. Chris A. Garuba (Rtd.), Chairman of the African Think Tank for Infrastructure Development; His Eminence Nteyin (Dr.) Solomon Daniel Etuk, President General of Akwa Ibom State; Dr. Nthabiseng Moleko, Chairperson of the South African National Empowerment Fund; and Mr. Tomohiro Ishikawa, Chief Regulatory Engagement Officer at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

Their contributions highlighted the importance of aligning policy, technical capacity and financing tools to close the gap that continues to undermine growth across African economies.

The discussions also underscored that despite the scale of the deficit, opportunities for transformation are within reach if governments strengthen collaboration, improve project delivery systems and apply financing models that reduce risk for investors.