Africa: The Continent Has the Capital - It Needs the Alignment.

What the report says

AllAfrica published an interview and analysis piece on September 5, 2026, focused on Afreximbank’s Managing Director for Export Development, Oluranti Doherty, and the financing challenges facing Africa’s industrialization. The article argues that the continent’s main obstacle is not a lack of capital, but a lack of coordination: different forms of finance are often not matched to the stage of a project, from early equity to long-term debt and working capital.

The report uses cotton and textiles as a case study, pointing to Benin’s Glo-Djigbé industrial zone as an example of how raw materials can be processed into higher-value goods within Africa. It says the value of raw cotton can rise sharply when turned into garments, and suggests similar models could be adapted in other cotton-producing countries. The piece also frames the issue as one of industrial strategy, with value-added processing, manufacturing, branding and retailing often happening outside the continent.

Doherty says Afreximbank has developed tools such as project-preparation support and the FEDA equity fund to help bridge early financing gaps. The article also highlights the launch of the Alliance for African Multilateral Financial Institutions, a coalition of African-owned lenders with a combined balance sheet of about $70 billion, as part of efforts to improve coordination around large projects.

More broadly, the story says negative narratives about Africa can raise borrowing costs and distort perceptions of risk. It presents the African Continental Free Trade Area as broadly aligned with the industrial goals described in the interview, while emphasizing that the continent already has viable projects and institutions — what remains is better alignment between them.