This photo taken on Feb. 16, 2026 shows a scene of the 9th Africa Business Forum 2026 at the UN Conference Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Photo by Michael Tewelde/Xinhua)

ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- African leaders on Monday issued a unified call to transform the continent's vast economic and demographic potential into bankable projects at scale and speed, aiming to power development ambitions amid growing global uncertainties.

The urgent call came at the 9th Africa Business Forum 2026, the continent's flagship business gathering, which opened Monday at the UN Conference Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, under the theme "Financing the Future of Africa: Jobs, Innovation and Creative Capital."

The two-day forum, convened annually by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in collaboration with the African Union (AU) and other partners, is a premier platform for high-level engagement among African heads of state, private sector leaders, and investors.

This year's forum centered on fostering partnerships and leveraging blended finance to advance Africa's youth economy.

Addressing the forum, Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie emphasized the crucial importance of harnessing the potential of Africa's youth. Noting that the AU's 50-year continental development blueprint, Agenda 2063, designates the youth as the primary drivers of Africa's renaissance, he said with over 70 percent of the continent's population under the age of 30, Africa is yet to exploit its "immense" demographic potential.

"During this decade, 362 million youngsters entered the working age population. However, our current job market can only provide jobs to 161 million people," Atske Selassie said. "This demographic reality can become Africa's greatest strength if we succeed in turning our youth into productive capital and our innovation into scalable enterprises."

Experts and policymakers at the forum stressed that while global capital has become more selective, Africa's demographic and market fundamentals make it an "irresistible frontier." They highlighted the need to address the existing gap between available funds and viable projects.

Emphasizing that transformation is already underway in multiple sectors across Africa, with the continent beginning to export value, not just commodities, UNECA Executive Secretary Claver Gatete said that despite these successes, the pace of transformation remains below potential.

"Africa faces a huge infrastructure financing gap and further loses billions annually to illicit financial flows. Even so, the continent holds over 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars of domestic institutional capital in pension funds, insurance pools, and sovereign assets. The paradox, therefore, is not a lack of capital, but the lack of mechanisms that connect capital to bankable projects," he said.

Gatete proposed four strategic measures for collective action. These include scaling up domestic capital and deploying innovative financing instruments, stronger credit ratings and more credible African capital markets, full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, and investing decisively in innovation, skills, and data systems. ■

Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie speaks during the 9th Africa Business Forum 2026 at the UN Conference Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Feb. 16, 2026. (Photo by Michael Tewelde/Xinhua)

Guests attend the 9th Africa Business Forum 2026 at the UN Conference Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Feb. 16, 2026. (Photo by Michael Tewelde/Xinhua)