AUDA-NEPAD launches operational section of Africa Group on the seventh African Union Mid-12 months Coordination Summit in Malabo

Africa Group brings collectively the ambitions and commitments of AUDA-NEPAD, Regional Financial Communities (RECs), African Union establishments, continental monetary our bodies, Member States, and growth companions beneath one unified banner.”

Delivering a gap tackle on the Africa Group Spherical Desk, African Union Fee Chairperson H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf mentioned, “It’s time to shift from fragmented efforts to harmonised supply. Collectively we are able to unlock the Africa we wish—resilient, affluent and self-reliant.”

CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, Ms Nardos Bekele-Thomas underscored the importance of the second: “That is greater than a date on the calendar, we’re in a dialog with the RECS and have a shared resolve on a single funding framework for the continent by the Africa Group.”

The Spherical Desk formally launched the operational section of Africa Group — a shared platform geared toward strengthening coordination, deepening accountability, and accelerating useful resource mobilisation. The initiative is constructed on the idea that Africa’s sustainable growth will depend on collective motion: Pamoja, the Swahili phrase for “collectively.”

A central function of the Spherical Desk was the presentation of Africa Group’s Programme Doc: a compendium of over 300 high-impact regional and continental tasks, structured throughout six thematic portfolios:

• Infrastructure Improvement
• Meals Methods Transformation and Environmental Sustainability
• Continental Well being Methods Structure
• Digital Transformation and Innovation Ecosystems
• Energize Africa: Youth, Development, and Job Creation

From Imaginative and prescient to Implementation

The Africa Group initiative stems from discussions held on the 4th African Union Mid-12 months Coordination Assembly in Lusaka, Zambia, in 2023. Leaders throughout the continent recognized a have to get rid of duplication and streamline efforts round programming and funding. These reflections catalysed the creation of Africa Group — a framework designed to drive implementation of the Second Ten-12 months Plan of Agenda 2063, also referred to as the Decade of Acceleration.

A New Mindset for Improvement

“Importantly, Africa Group alerts a shift in mindset. It strikes us past extreme dependency on donor-driven assist, towards a deal with attracting strategic funding,  investments aligned with Africa’s priorities, led by African establishments, and rooted in mutual profit and long-term impression,” concluded Bekele-Thomas.

The Street Forward

With full participation of the RECS Heads and the Heads of different AU establishments, the members closed the roundtable by agreeing on the next:

1. Endorsed a Excessive-Stage Declaration that formally designates Africa Group because the African Union’s single funding interface and obliges Member States, Regional Financial Communities and AU organs to coordinate their programmes by it.
2. Authorized an Africa Group Roadmap – Section II, a time-bound plan that units rapid milestones for aligning associate priorities, curating a bankable mission pipeline and placing sturdy monitoring and accountability mechanisms in place to maintain momentum.
3. Launched a drive for associate commitments, inviting development-finance establishments, multilateral banks, personal buyers and philanthropic actors to register expressions of curiosity that vary from technical help and co-financing to blended-finance devices.

4. Integration with AfCFTA corridors – Africa Group’s deal pipeline will prioritise tasks that unlock continental commerce routes and regional worth chains, reinforcing the AfCFTA’s goals.
5. Accountability loop – AUDA-NEPAD will challenge quarterly dashboards monitoring disbursements, impression metrics and gender-responsive outcomes.
6. Legislative oversight – The Pan-African Parliament will use its upcoming Fifth Peculiar Session to scrutinise Africa Group financing devices and guarantee equitable distribution, in keeping with President Charumbira’s pledge of “One Africa, One Voice.”
7. Personal-sector catalysis – Early-stage de-risking instruments and blended-finance home windows are anticipated to be unveiled earlier than the February 2026 AU Summit.

Because the continent stands at this crucial inflection level, the message from Malabo is obvious: Africa will go additional, sooner — if we go collectively. Pamoja.