Sahara Group has called for stronger mobilisation of sustainable investment and climate finance to accelerate Africa's development, strengthen economic resilience, and create lasting prosperity across the continent. The Group Managing Director, Sahara Power Enterprise Group, Dr. Kola Adesina, made the call at a United Nations General Assembly roundtable on Sustainable Global Investment, Economic Resilience and Climate Financing. He emphasised that Africa's growth ambitions depend on building productive economies that can withstand economic, environmental, and geopolitical shocks.
According to Adesina, sustainable investment, economic resilience, and climate finance should be pursued as interconnected priorities, particularly as Africa continues to face significant infrastructure, energy, food security, and employment challenges. Experts have argued that the scale of the opportunity in Africa is substantial, with almost 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa lacking access to electricity. Additionally, the continent faces a annual infrastructure financing gap of between $68 billion and $108 billion.
Adesina noted that Africa's most pressing challenge is expanding its productive capacity at scale. He emphasised the need for sustained investment in energy, infrastructure, industry, agriculture, and enterprise development to create jobs, strengthen competitiveness, and support long-term resilience. The global investment landscape presents significant opportunities for the continent, with foreign direct investment reaching approximately $1.6 trillion in 2025.
Assets linked to sustainable investment strategies have grown to $16.7 trillion globally, reflecting increasing investor demand for projects that deliver both financial and developmental value. Adesina highlighted climate finance as a critical enabler of resilient growth, particularly as African economies face increasing exposure to droughts, floods, extreme heat, and other climate-related risks. African countries contribute less than four per cent of global greenhouse-gas emissions.
Adesina noted that African countries require an estimated $277 billion annually to implement their climate commitments, compared with climate-finance flows of roughly $30 billion annually. He underscored the need for innovative financing structures that can unlock more capital for mitigation and adaptation projects. Drawing from Sahara's experience, Adesina highlighted the company's investments across LNG, LPG, gas-to-power infrastructure, and logistics.
Sahara is committed to a net-zero ambition by 2060 through strategic gas infrastructure development, renewable energy integration, and nature-based solutions. The discussion aligns with Sahara's Beyond XXX platform, a future-focused commitment to advancing sustainable development through investments, innovation, talent, collaboration, environmental stewardship, and solutions that create long-term value across Africa and beyond.
Adesina urged stronger project preparation, increased mobilisation of African institutional capital, deeper local-currency financing markets, and greater regional collaboration in energy, transport, and logistics infrastructure. He added that 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.
Key points
- Africa requires an estimated $277 billion annually to implement its climate commitments.
- The continent faces a annual infrastructure financing gap of between $68 billion and $108 billion.
- Almost 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity.
