FINANCING AFRICA
FORWARD
Africa requires an estimated
$1.3 trillion annually to realise Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Formed to Redefine
African Risk
The Financing Africa Forward (FAF) initiative was established to dismantle a persistent economic distortion: the mispricing of African sovereign debt and private-sector project risk in global capital markets.
The Financing Africa Forward (FAF) initiative was established to dismantle a persistent economic distortion: the mispricing of African sovereign debt and private-sector project risk in global capital markets. Our journey began with a landmark empirical study, conducted by Africa No Filter and Africa Practice, which quantified that subjective international media stereotypes alone cost African sovereign Eurobond issuers an additional $4.2 billion annually in inflated interest payments. To translate this research into systemic reform, Africa Practice and Standard Bank co-hosted the inaugural Financing Africa Forward Summit in Johannesburg in August 2025 to launch our Blueprint for Action. This African-led roadmap was subsequently adopted as a B20 Legacy Initiative, aligning our coalition with global governance priorities under the G20 policy framework to replace qualitative rating biases with empirical truth.
"The additional borrowing costs wipe out about two percentage points on African gross domestic product."
Sim Tshabalala,
CEO of Standard Bank
AT OUR CORE
Our Approach to Systemic Reform
To successfully implement the Blueprint for Action and reduce the cost of capital, our coalition’s work is guided by four core principles, executed across four strategic pillars.
African-Led
Grounded in local expertise, ensuring our solutions are context-specific and self-determined.
Evidence-Based
Moving beyond anecdote to build a peer-validated truth infrastructure based on quantitative performance.
Collaborative
Integrating the capabilities of academic institutions, multilateral banks, and civil society to avoid duplication.
Action-Oriented
Prioritising the delivery of practical software platforms, legal templates, and proactive government capacity-building.
OUR PARTNERS
A Coalition Driven
by Partnership
Financing Africa Forward is a multi-stakeholder coalition of governments, financial institutions, investors, and philanthropies. Our ecosystem of reform is operationalised through the following structure:
01
The FAF
Secretariat:
Strengthening sovereign investor relations and equipping finance ministries with practical tools to engage more effectively with rating agencies and global creditors.
02
The Research
Chair & Academic Consortium:
Co-led by Dr. Peter Blair Henry at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, providing econometric validation and mapping perception gaps across global rating agencies, allocators, and issuers.
03
The Steering Committee
and Core Funders:
Co-chaired by continental financial leaders including the Standard Bank Group and Afreximbank, providing strategic oversight, core funding, and institutional backing.
Our Implementing
Partners:
Pillar I
Government Capacity and
Engagement
Engaging with partners to equip sovereign finance ministries with frameworks to manage investor relations proactively.
Pillar II
Multilateral Coordination
and Innovation
Collaborating with key partners to design scalable models that unlock domestic resource mobilisation and streamline blended finance structures.
Pillar III
Data, Methodology
and Research
A consortium constructing the core data infrastructure. We have partnered with the ONE Campaign and ONE Data to leverage the Development Finance Observatory to design and launch the Risk-Return Data Hub, alongside Google Data Commons, Systemiq, and the Rockefeller Foundation.
Pillar IV
Advocacy & Narrative
Transformation
Partners translating complex analytical assets into global campaigns. An advanced 5-year advocacy pilot with Afreximbank focused on a Cotton-to-Cloth campaign demonstrating how value-chain industrialisation mitigates perception risk. Furthermore, a partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the Emerging Markets Investor Alliance (EMIA), and the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) is co-developing a roadmap to reduce the cost of capital for the African energy transition.
Partners and Coalition
GET INVOLVED
Let’s End the Prejudice Premium Together
Every stakeholder has a crucial role to play in Financing Africa Forward. Dismantling the $74.5 billion penalty on African development requires more than outrage; it requires a shared empirical truth infrastructure. Complete the form to access tailored resources, explore partnership opportunities, or subscribe to our updates.