Sahara Group has called for increased sustainable investment, climate finance and private-sector capital to help Africa close its infrastructure gap, expand energy access and build economies capable of withstanding economic, environmental and geopolitical shocks.
Speaking at a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) roundtable on Sustainable Global Investment, Economic Resilience and Climate Financing, Dr. Kola Adesina, Group Managing Director of Sahara Power Enterprise Group, said Africa’s development ambitions would depend on significantly increasing investment in productive sectors.
Adesina said sustainable investment, economic resilience and climate finance should be treated as interconnected priorities as African economies confront persistent infrastructure, energy, food security and employment challenges.
“Africa’s most pressing challenge is expanding its productive capacity at scale. We need sustained investment in energy, infrastructure, industry, agriculture, and enterprise development to create jobs, strengthen competitiveness, and support long-term resilience,” he said.
Africa faces major financing gap
The scale of Africa’s investment challenge remains substantial.
Almost 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa still lack access to electricity, while the continent faces an estimated annual infrastructure financing gap of between $68 billion and $108 billion.
Adesina said closing the gap would require African countries to attract significantly more private capital while strengthening domestic financial markets and improving the pipeline of bankable projects.
He pointed to the wider global investment market as an opportunity for Africa, noting that foreign direct investment reached approximately $1.6 trillion in 2025, while assets associated with sustainable investment strategies had grown to about $16.7 trillion globally.
According to Adesina, Africa needs to position its infrastructure and development projects to attract a greater share of that capital by demonstrating both financial viability and measurable developmental impact.
Climate finance critical to resilient growth
Adesina also identified climate finance as a key component of Africa’s development strategy.
African economies face growing exposure to droughts, floods, extreme heat and other climate-related risks, despite the continent accounting for less than 4 per cent of global greenhouse-gas emissions.
“Africa requires substantial investment not only to grow, but also to protect the infrastructure, businesses, food systems, and communities that underpin development,” he said.
African countries are estimated to require about $277 billion annually to implement their climate commitments, compared with climate-finance flows of roughly $30 billion a year.
The financing gap, Adesina said, highlights the need for new funding structures capable of mobilising both international and domestic capital for climate mitigation and adaptation.
Sahara highlights energy investment
Adesina drew on Sahara’s experience in the energy sector, citing the group’s investments across liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, gas-to-power infrastructure and logistics.
He said the company was pursuing a net-zero ambition by 2060 through a combination of strategic gas infrastructure development, renewable energy integration and nature-based solutions.
The approach, he said, reflects the broader need to balance Africa’s immediate energy and development requirements with longer-term environmental sustainability.
The discussion at the UNGA roundtable also aligns with Sahara’s Beyond XXX platform, which focuses on sustainable development through investment, innovation, talent, collaboration, environmental stewardship and solutions designed to create long-term value across Africa and beyond.
Call for stronger African capital markets
Adesina called for improved project preparation and stronger mechanisms for converting Africa’s infrastructure needs into investment-ready opportunities.
He also urged greater mobilisation of African institutional capital, deeper local-currency financing markets and increased regional cooperation in energy, transportation and logistics.
For Africa, he said, sustainable finance should ultimately translate into productive capacity rather than remain focused solely on financial flows.
“Africa’s opportunity lies in building resilient prosperity, where investment translates into productive capacity, jobs, reliable infrastructure, and sustainable economic growth that endures for generations,” Adesina said.
He added that sustainable investment and climate finance could help unlock that opportunity if capital was directed towards projects capable of delivering both economic returns and long-term development outcomes.