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Governance is the Engine for Economic Development
Africa's stalled development is a symptom of a deep leadership crisis rooted in the absence of a cohesive national worldview.
Abu Okari
July 25, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes
(This forward is a summary of a longer piece that is available here.)
The Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership is an award for excellence and standard for leadership. It is also an indictment of a continental leadership deficit. Poor leadership in Africa is a symptom of a deeper issue. As thinkers like Professor Kingsley Moghalu have argued, the engine for economic development is good governance, and the philosophical underpinning of good leadership is a cohesive national worldview.
To paraphrase Moghalu, “…development begins in the mind. Without a clear, shared philosophy on who they are and where they are going, nations cannot create prosperity or project their strategic interests onto the global stage. This lack of a worldview is why, after 60 years of effort, many African countries have not transformed in the way Asian nations have..”
This diagnosis is complemented by the work of Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, whose research after her 2019 presidential campaign identified the prevailing political order and class as the critical obstacle to competent leadership in Africa. Her initiative, FixPolitics, and its innovative School of Politics, Policy, and Governance (SPPG), and the Africa School of Governance (ASG), where Moghalu is the President and VC, are direct attempts to build the new, value-driven political class required to forge Africa nations with worldviews and a political order that operates from strategic global intent.
This internal leadership vacuum has direct consequences on Africa's relationship with the world in many areas. A currently relevant example is the international aid sector. Professor Ken Opalo notes that (paraphrased) “…even as the old aid model loses legitimacy, its practitioners remain wedded to it, often acting with a "God Complex" and a "soft bigotry of low expectations" towards African nations.”. Without its own strategic intent, Africa will probably not leverage the current changes in the sector, and instead, is relegated to its old passive recipient role, unable to effectively negotiate a new, more equitable dynamic.
This is a defining moment for the continent, and Africa needs to wake up to it through actions. The path to realizing Africa's 21st-century potential is not through projects or aid alone, but through a deep philosophical and ideological transformation of its political class and order. Building and projecting a cohesive worldview is the essential, foundational step for Africa to finally shape its own destiny.
Contact: [email protected]
FINANCING & INVESTING
In a show of support following the recent Fitch downgrade, the AfCFTA Secretariat reaffirmed its full confidence in Afreximbank, highlighting its vital role in advancing Africa’s economic resilience, industrialisation, and intra-African trade.
Q1 2025 Venture Capital Activity in Africa courtesy of AVCA - The African Private Capital Association.
The SECO Startup Fund, managed by iGravity and Seedstars, has renewed its commitment to deploy CHF 5 million in strategic debt financing to impactful, post-revenue startups in emerging markets, focusing on decent work, climate adaptation, and essential services.
Following the withdrawal of US state funding, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the world’s largest foundation, has pledged $57.76 million to help plug financial gaps at the WHO. The WHO has now secured over $170 million in new commitments from multiple countries and organizations.
Africa's Cross Border Payment Landscape Report by Oui Capital.
Kenya: The Carbon Markets Association of Kenya (CAMAK) white paper highlights a $5 - 8 B opportunity to unlock private climate finance via international compliance carbon markets, boosting tax revenues, positioning carbon credits as a top export, and funding a large share of national emissions reductions through strategic policy action.
Zambia and Ghana’s move to impose debt restructuring losses on TDB and Afreximbank challenges their claims to multilateral status, risking credit downgrades and threatening the stability of key African development finance institutions at a critical time.
Q2 saw presidential transitions in Pan-African multilateral development finance institutions, with George Elombi appointed at Afreximbank and Sidi Ould Tah elected at AfDB.
EVENTS & FELLOWSHIPS
Partial scholarships to the Oxford Impact Finance Innovations course this November, a transformative week with global leaders reimagining finance for greater impact and inclusion.
EmergeImpact DemoDays - an event series that connects Africa’s innovators with funders, incubators, and ecosystem enablers to accelerate breakthrough ventures.
OPPORTUNITIES
The Milken-Motsepe Prize in AI and Manufacturing. This prize offers $2m in total prizes, including a $1m Grand Prize. Apply by July 31.
Lloyd’s of London Foundation Grant Programme for innovative research in risk management and climate adaptation.
The Joint Innovation Facility (JIF) is offering €100,000 - €250,000 in catalytic funding to African-led consortia scaling digitally enabled, climate-smart innovations across Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, with eligibility open to cross-border partnerships that meet criteria for tech-enabled climate solutions, market potential, gender equity, and financial accountability.
The Sorenson Impact Foundation is looking to provide funding to organizations, researchers, and entrepreneurs around the world that are working in Responsible AI & the Digital Future & The Ownership Economy & Economic Empowerment.
Climatebase Fellowship, the climate career accelerator for future leaders in climate.
The Audacious Project, a funding initiative by TED that encourages the world’s greatest changemakers to dream bigger, is now accepting rolling applications.
The Jacobs Foundation LEVANTE Framework Grant - up to $1M available for researchers advancing global understanding of how children grow and learn across diverse contexts.
South Africa: The MDDA is offering grants to support independent radio, TV, and print projects that uplift marginalized voices through eligible community and small commercial media organizations.
The Next Narrative Africa Fund open call for film and TV script development grants for African and diasporan creators.
Karibu Africa Grantmaking Program for grassroots groups across Africa challenging systemic injustices across the continent.
Applications open for the IMD Driving Innovative Finance for Impact program - aims to empower participants to design and lead innovative financing projects that address complex challenges in the humanitarian and development space.
Rainforest Trust is accepting proposals from nonprofits, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities to fund feasibility studies and the creation of protected areas in vital tropical and subtropical ecosystems, with a focus on long-term legal protection, biodiversity, climate impact, and community-led conservation.
The Africa Impact Fundraising Grant by the New Africa Fund empowers registered NGOs, CBOs, and social enterprises across all 55 African Union countries with training, funding, and long-term support to boost their fundraising capacity, including a 30-day challenge, $5,000 in matching funds, and a chance to attend a workshop in Kigali.
RESOURCES
▶Investing for Impact: Lessons from the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund. In 2022, MFAGF set out with an ambitious goal to move capital differently, intentionally shifting power and fostering a more inclusive investment ecosystem that can drive job creation for young people and women across Africa. Three years later, they are sharing their hardwon lessons in a series of four books that promises to be of significant value to the impact ecosystem. Book One of the Learning Series shares key insights from the journey to build an inclusive, African-led investment ecosystem that moves capital differently to drive impact for youth and women.
▶Applai is an AI-powered grant discovery, application, and management platform that helps NGOs, startups, and SMEs efficiently find the right grants, streamline proposal writing with AI support, and track deadlines, teams, and impact.
▶The Global Impact Investing Network's Impact Lab team has launched the Impact Quantifier - a tool that uses QALYs (quality-adjusted life years) to help investors measure and compare impact across sectors and geographies, potentially bringing greater rigor, consistency, and a deeper focus on human well-being.
WORTHY READS
Favorite Reads on Investing, Governance and Development
▶ Recent sharp cuts in U.S. and other foreign aid, though disruptive, could serve as a powerful catalyst for Africa to break its cycle of dependency, reimagine development on its own terms, and accelerate sustainable, investment-driven growth. Can be read alongside the following critical analysis - Canada After Aid: Learning to Exit with Integrity.