"African Experts Urge Governance Reforms, Domestic Resource Mobilization, and Stronger Partnerships to Drive Economic Transformation in Transition States"

" African Experts Urge Governance Reforms, Domestic Resource Mobilization, and Stronger Partnerships to Drive Economic Transformation in Transition States \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nAfrican economists and development leaders have called for sweeping governance reforms, stronger domestic resource mobilization, and innovative partnerships to accelerate economic transformation across the continent\u2019s transition states.\r\n\r\nThe call came at a high-level Policy Dialogue organized by the\u00a0African Development Institute (ADI) of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB)\u00a0during the\u00a066th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Economic Society (NES)\u00a0in Abuja. The session, themed\u00a0 \u201cDriving Africa\u2019s Economic Transformation in Transition States: The Role of Capacity Development and Knowledge Management\u201d , was moderated by\u00a0Chidiebere Ibe, Chief Capacity Development Officer at ADI.\r\n\r\nThe session drew hundreds of delegates from across African and globally, including leading economists, policymakers, academics, students, and international development partners.\r\n\r\nAfrica\u2019s transition states are the continent\u2019s most vulnerable economies, facing a wide range of political, economic, security and environmental challenges, and striving for greater stability and resilience.\r\n\r\nOpening the dialogue,\u00a0Abdul Kamara, African Development Bank Director General for the Nigeria Country Department, said Africa must accelerate growth to at least 7% annually and achieve per capita GDP growth of 3.5% for four to five decades to meet the African Union\u2019s Agenda 2063 targets.\r\n\r\n\u201cAfrica requires $811 billion per annum in financing to achieve inclusive growth and sustainable development. Yet the continent faces a funding gap of about $680 billion each year,\u201d Kamara said. \u201cTransition states alone require $210 billion annually, with a shortfall of $188 billion.\u201d\r\n\r\nHe stressed that inclusive growth\u2014focused on job creation, youth and women empowerment, and reducing structural bottlenecks\u2014is central to the Bank\u2019s approach. Highlighting initiatives such as Nigeria\u2019s $618 million iDICE program to boost innovation and the creative economy. Kamara said the Bank is investing in the youth, women, infrastructure, energy, education, and technology to tackle persistent development challenges.\r\n\r\nEric Ogunleye, Director of the ADI, underscored the urgency of addressing fragility, noting that 24 African countries are now classified as transition states, up from 22 just in the last four years.\r\n\r\n\u201cOver 250 million Africans are directly affected by fragility, with more than 44 million forcibly displaced by mid-2024,\u201d Ogunleye said. \u201cConflict-affected countries have suffered a 20% drop in growth and significant declines in social outcomes, as resources are diverted from infrastructure and health to fighting causes of fragility.\u201d\r\n\r\nHe warned that hotspots of instability across the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes region threatened long-term development unless countries pursued bold reforms, strengthened governance, and built resilience against climate shocks.\r\n\r\nBoth AfDB officials emphasized that sustained transformation requires not only financial resources but also investments in capacity development and knowledge management. \u201cCapacity is crucial to policymaking and institution-building,\u201d Ogunleye said. \u201cWe must move away from copy-and-paste policies and develop locally relevant and tailored strategies rooted in indigenous and unique knowledge of the environment.\u201d\r\n\r\nOther experts echoed the call for reforms. Emmanuel Owusu-Sekyere, Director of Research, Policy and Programs at the\u00a0African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), stressed that conflict resolution and governance reform must precede any meaningful development.\r\n\r\n\u201cEfforts must first focus on ending the conflict before any developmental activity can start,\u201d he said. \u201cThe most important thing is to ensure reforms focus on establishing good governance and visionary leadership. That is where the buck starts and ends.\u201d\r\n\r\nOwusu-Sekyere warned that corruption and weak political commitment remain Africa\u2019s \u201celephant in the room.\u201d He urged governments to stem illicit financial flows, harness remittances, and pursue non-partisan development plans.\r\n\r\nOn financing,\u00a0Adeyemi Dipeolu, Faculty Member of the Policy Lab Unit at ADI and erstwhile Advisor to the President of Nigeria on Economic Matters, highlighted Africa\u2019s low\u00a0tax-to-GDP ratio of 17%\u00a0compared to\u00a029% in Latin America\u00a0and\u00a026% in East Asia.\r\n\r\nDipeolu stressed the importance of tackling illicit financial flows, which cost Africa an estimated\u00a0$90 billion annually, and leveraging remittances, which rose to\u00a0$56 billion in 2024. He also cautioned against unsustainable borrowing: \u201cOut of the countries in debt distress worldwide, seven of nine are African,\u201d he stated.\r\n\r\nJane Mariara, Executive Director of the\u00a0Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP), pointed to shrinking development assistance but highlighted opportunities in climate finance flows to Africa, which surged to\u00a0$137 billion in 2024.\r\n\r\nShe called for stronger debt management capacity and wider use of blended finance and risk-sharing instruments: \u201cTransition states must prioritize building institutional capacity, while partnerships with the private sector can unlock new resources.\u201d\r\n\r\nAcross the dialogue, experts agreed that transformation in Africa\u2019s transition states will depend on strong governance, coherent development strategies, sustainable financing, and robust partnerships.\r\n\r\nIn his closing remarks, Seedwell Hove, Division Manager, Policy Management Division at the African Development Institute, stated that one of the key takeaways from the policy dialogue is that capacity development is foundational to economic growth and transformation, while knowledge management helps to scale impact. These must underpin reforms if Africa is to move from fragility to resilience, and from transition to transformation.\r\n\r\n "

"African Experts Urge Governance Reforms, Domestic Resource Mobilization, and Stronger Partnerships to Drive Economic Transformation in Transition States"

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