July 7, 2026 – Nairobi, Kenya – At the 26th Annual General Meeting of
the African Trade & Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI), President
William Ruto of Kenya issued a clarion call for Africa to strengthen its
financial institutions and fund its development on its own terms. The
meetings, which took place in Nairobi from 30 June to 3 July, proceeded
under the theme: “Empowering Africa: Risk Managed, Growth Unlocked”.
“For years, we have called for a fairer global financial architecture,
one that stops mispricing African risk and making our capital needlessly
expensive. That call remains right. But Africa cannot wait for reform
elsewhere. While the world debates reform, Africa must build,” Ruto
said at a gala dinner at State House held to commemorate ATIDI’s 25th
anniversary.
President Ruto endorsed the establishment of the New African Financial
Architecture for Development (NAFAD), an initiative launched by Dr. Sidi
Ould Tah, President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) in
April 2026. The NAFAD aims to call African institutions to work together
to strengthen the continent’s risk-sharing mechanisms, to reduce the
continent’s borrowing costs, and to unlock domestic capital at scale for
Africa’s development.
Africa holds nearly USD4 trillion in long-term domestic savings through
pension funds, insurance assets, and central bank reserves. Much of this
capital is, however, invested overseas, despite Africa facing an annual
financing gap of more than USD400 billion.
“Africa does not suffer from a shortage of capital. Africa suffers
from a shortage of institutions capable of transforming risk, mobilising
savings and connecting them to productive investment,” President Ruto
said.
Kenya pledges increased support
President Ruto said that NAFAD would help plug this USD400bn financing
gap by leveraging the collective strengths of the continent’s leading
multilateral financial institutions to catalyse increased domestic and
global investment.
At the heart of NAFAD is the Alliance of African Multilateral Financial
Institutions (AAMFI), which brings continental powerhouses like the
AfDB, Afreximbank, Africa Finance Corporation, ATIDI, and others.
President Ruto announced that, in support of the alliance, the
Government of Kenya had approved the establishment of its Secretariat in
Nairobi.
He singled out ATIDI’s strategic role in the alliance. “Within this
Alliance, ATIDI occupies a uniquely strategic place. Investment follows
confidence, and confidence follows credible risk mitigation.”
He called for ATIDI’s recapitalisation to USD2 billion, noting that
every dollar invested in the continent’s guarantee architecture has
the potential to mobilise ten dollars more in private capital.
“Today, I invite every Member State represented here to join Kenya in
launching the Nairobi Capital Compact on African Economic Sovereignty.
The Compact rests on five commitments:
to progressively recapitalise ATIDI, to strengthen the AAMFI, to
mobilise Africa’s domestic capital, to expand our guarantee and
risk-sharing capacity, and to build globally competitive African
multilateral financial institutions,” he said.
Kenya remains a strategic market for ATIDI, with the organization’s
solutions unlocking more than USD7 billion in investments across
energy, transport, manufacturing, agriculture, and trade sectors.
To deepen that partnership, President Ruto announced that Kenya will,
subject to the necessary national processes, progressively increase its
shareholding in ATIDI from USD25 million to USD65 million. He also
presented ATIDI with the title deed for land for the construction of its
permanent headquarters.
A legacy worth protecting
In his address at the AGM’s opening ceremony, ATIDI CEO Manuel Moses
reflected on the silver jubilee. He said that the organization had
“demonstrated that African solutions are often best placed to address
Africa’s unique challenges and opportunities.”
Since its inception, ATIDI has catalysed more than USD93 billion in
private investment across Africa through innovative risk mitigation
instruments like political risk and credit insurance that strengthen
investor confidence. Its shareholder base, meanwhile, has grown from
seven founding members to 24 African countries, 13 institutional members
and 1 non-African member state. It also remains one of Africa’s
highest rated insurers, having consistently maintained an investment
grade rating with major global credit rating agencies since its
founding.
“We have built our success on the ability to combine world-class
standards with a deep understanding of African markets, designing
solutions that reflect local realities while meeting the expectations of
global investors,” he remarked.
This is a legacy worth protecting, he argued, highlighting the critical
need for African countries to continue honouring ATIDI’s preferred
creditor status (PCS). ATIDI relies on its preferred creditor status to
ensure that member states prioritise obligations to it even during
financial distress. This is what underpins investor confidence in
ATIDI’s guarantees and is “fundamental to the business model”, Moses
explained.
Moses expressed confidence in the institution’s financial strength,
underwriting capacity, and strategic direction, citing its strong 2025
results.
In 2025, ATIDI recorded strong financial performance, with total
exposure increasing to USD9.2 billion from USD8.9 billion in 2024,
profit for the year rising by 20% to USD71.4 million, total assets
growing by 20% to USD1.06 billion, and total equity increasing by 12% to
USD883 million.
Also read: https://brandspurng.com/2026/07/07/masterchef-nigeria-the-spice-runs-out-for-isabella/
“Against a backdrop of continued global uncertainty and the lingering
effects of the COVID pandemic, ATIDI delivered another year of resilient
growth in 2025, with strong results across insurance revenue, investment
income and total equity,” he said.
In his address, Professor Kelly Mua Kingsly, Chairman of the Board of
Directors at ATIDI, argued that Africa’s economic advancement hinges
on boosting investor confidence. The continent’s vast natural
resources or attractive demographics may capture investors’ interest,
but projects will not be financed unless investors have the confidence
to commit funds.
“Africa’s greatest asset is confidence. If capital is the engine of
development, confidence is its fuel. That is where ATIDI has found its
unique purpose. We do not merely mitigate risk. We create confidence,”
he said.
Leaders urge increased private investment
A central feature of the AGM was the Leaders’ Panel, which explored
how Africa can build a more resilient and self‑sustaining development
finance ecosystem amid shifting global capital flows, rising debt
pressures, and growing demand for infrastructure and industrial
investment.
Speaking on the panel, Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, President of the African
Development Bank (AfDB), called for greater support to African financial
institutions. He highlighted the role of institutions such as ATIDI in
making Africa’s high‑potential industries more attractive to local
investors, many of whom continue to deploy their funds overseas due to
persistent misperceptions of risk on the continent.
The African Development Bank Group has recently decided to increase its
participation in the capital of ATIDI five-fold, becoming the largest
institutional shareholder of ATIDI. AfDB will also support the growth
of membership in ATIDI. President Tah stated AfDB is “also mobilizing
our partners to provide support to African countries who are not yet
members of ATIDI to join ATIDI and to help them to pay for their
participation in the capital of ATIDI.”
“The challenge before us is not a lack of capital or opportunities,
but a persistent mispricing of the African risk, and this is leading to
excessive cost of capital in the continent”, President Tah said.
“Under the NAFAD framework, our ambition is clear: to unlock Africa’s
capital by combining domestic and international resources while
strengthening our financial sovereignty. This is how we will create
jobs, accelerate industrial transformation, and build a more prosperous,
resilient, and financially sovereign Africa.” President Tah also
stated that within the NAFAD architecture, ATIDI plays an indispensable
role.
President Tah urged leaders and policymakers to maintain a laser focus
on creating an environment conducive to private investment. “This is
why the African Development Bank Group is evolving from a traditional
project financier into a catalyst for markets. We want to be the
solution Bank for the Africa we want” he said. “Together with ATIDI
and through guarantee and blended finance, we are demonstrating that
every dollar of public finance can mobilise significantly more private
capital for infrastructure.” President Tah added.
Professor Kithure Kindiki, Kenya’s deputy president, echoed the call
for stronger private‑sector participation in Africa’s economic
development, citing the fiscal constraints and debt pressures facing
many African governments.
“The public sector doesn’t have enough resources to undertake some
of the ambitions that we have, so that money will have to come from
private investments,” he said.
The second day of the AGM was dedicated to investment promotion and
business development and featured in-depth presentations on
macroeconomic developments and proposed projects in Cameroon and Kenya.
Projects in strategic sectors such as renewable energy, water,
agriculture and transport were showcased.
The programme also included a series of curated Business-to-Business
(B2B) and Business-to-Government (B2G) meetings designed to connect
investors, businesses and public sector stakeholders.
