ABEDA Calls for Structural Transformation of Africa via Four Cardinal Points
During the Djibouti Forum 2025 which took place from the 6 to 8 April 2025. This year, the Forum brought together 150 participants from 51 countries including institutional investors such as the Arab Bank of Economic Development in Africa (ABEDA). During his keynote address, the President of ABEDA, Dr Sidi Tah, put forward his vision for a prosperous Africa by pointing out four cardinal structural transformative policy changes.
The new policy for a prosperous Africa revolves around four axes as follows:
- Local value addition of raw materials to move up the global value chain
- Regional integration to achieve economies of scale
- Human Capital development, with special focus on youth and women
- Sustainable Finance to support climate-smart development
Being located in a geostrategic location at the crossroads of Africa, Middle-East and Asia, Djibouti has enjoyed a special place in global trade. Djibouti has come up with its Vision 2025 National Development Plan (#NDP) to diversify its economy beyond ports and logistics into energy, telecoms, energy and tourism.
“Djibouti has one of the most efficient and sophisticated port in Africa. Renewable energy, digital economy, financial services and tourism are all at the heart of this next chapter. The pillar of our strategy is stability. Our currency is pegged to the dollar since 1949 and offers investors a degree of stability that is rare in Africa.”
Djibouti PM Kamil Mohamed
The Sovereign Wealth Fund of Djibouti outlined its ambitious plan to double its assets under management within the next five years. The Government of Djibouti is committed to foster a conducive environment to attract investors.
Despite all the challenges and negative narrative, the data shows that Africa has been able to develop 345 businesses valued at over USD one billion, with cumulative revenues exceeding USD one trillion annually.