Africa must invest in its human capital alongside its infrastructure and looking to transform vast resources into growth

Despite all its untapped critical mineral wealth and vast natural resources and environmental riches, Africa’s greatest asset is not in the ground but in its youth, in its human capital, said Gabon President Brice Oligui Nguema, to widespread applause at this week’s 2026 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group.

“We must invest in them - in education, engineering, and technical training,” continued President Nguema, to nods of approval from his fellow African leaders onstage in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, during a presidential dialogue which followed the opening ceremony on Tuesday. “We must believe in them.”

The high-level panel discussion also featured President Faustin-Archange Touadéra of the Central African Republic, President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo, and Dr Sidi Ould Tah, the President of the African Development Bank Group.

The African leaders called for greater investment in energy, infrastructure, industrialisation and climate finance, and also urged the continent to mobilise more private capital to drive its development agenda. They repeatedly returned to the role of Africa’s youth and human capital in transforming the continent’s economies.

The 2026 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), with the theme of “Mobilising Africa’s Development Financing at Scale in a Fragmented World”, were held at the Kintele Conference Centre in Brazzaville. The audience included senior government officials, AfDB governors, finance leaders, development partners, and other stakeholders including private sector and civil society leaders.

Responding to questions on Africa’s financing gap, Dr Ould Tah said Africa possessed significant untapped capital, including an estimated four trillion dollars in African-held financial resources that could be leveraged to raise capital at scale for bankable projects. “It is our role at the bank to work with states and financial institutions to design bankable projects and mobilise the necessary financing.”

Each of the African presidents discussed how their countries were adapting in a rapidly evolving world. President Nguema highlighted how Gabon was seeking to transform its vast natural resources and environmental assets into long-term economic growth through biodiversity finance and eco-tourism, and outlined efforts to monetise its forest conservation assets through carbon credit frameworks. 

“We would like to develop our forests while preserving nature,” he said. “By doing so, we can create ecological tourism without destroying our natural heritage.”

Congo’s President Nguesso stressed the importance of diversifying economies beyond hydrocarbons, even as oil and gas remained central to his country’s national revenues, and drew attention to plans to develop fertiliser production using Congo’s large reserves of potash, phosphate and natural gas, positioning the Republic of Congo as a future supplier to African and global agricultural markets.

President Touadéra appealed for stronger support from the Bank Group to help unlock the potential of landlocked economies through roads, power generation and regional connectivity projects. “We have huge potential… we have peace, and there are several sectors that can attract investors.” He said the government of the Central African Republic also supports Mission 300, the joint initiative of AfDB and the World Bank Group to provide electricity access to 300 million Africans by 2030.