Nigeria calls for global financial reform to boost Africa’s industrialisation

Abdullateef Fowewe

Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Taiwo Oyedele has urged a major overhaul of the international financial system on Wednesday, highlighting Africa’s crippling “prejudice premium” in borrowing costs during a statement summarising discussions at the recent Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi.

The summit, co-hosted by Kenya and France, spotlighted how unfair risk assessments inflate Africa’s capital expenses, Oyedele noted.

“Africa continues to bear a disproportionate cost of capital, driven largely by unfair risk assessment and the attendant ‘prejudice premium,’” he wrote.

This dynamic, he argued, hampers industrialisation through high borrowing costs, restrictive terms, limited long-term funding, and insufficient support for productivity.

Oyedele emphasised that Africa must tackle internal challenges too.

“Africa must also do more internally to strengthen governance and policy stability, create investment-friendly systems, respect contracts and the rule of law, and deepen regional integration,” he stated.

Fragmented markets, he added, cannot thrive in a global economy.

Looking ahead, the minister advocated mobilising Africa’s own resources, like pension savings, while courting private investment.

With $120 trillion in global private capital hunting returns, “Africa must position itself as an investment destination, not just a development conversation,” Oyedele said.

He pushed for a financing pivot: away from raw material extraction and crisis aid, toward value addition, infrastructure, skills, regional supply chains, tech, and innovation.

“Africa’s future will not be built on dependency, but on productivity, integration, and value creation,” he concluded.