Ruto, Macron push for African financial sovereignty ahead of G7 talks

From Right-President William Ruto and French President Emmanuel Macron during the closing of Africa Forward Summit on May 12, 2026. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

President William Ruto and French President Emmanuel Macron have called for a new global partnership framework that places Africa at the center of decisions on development financing, trade, energy transition, and global governance.

Speaking during the Africa Forward Summit 2026 in Nairobi, Ruto said African leaders were determined to end decades of dependency, exploitation, and externally driven development models by mobilizing the continent’s own resources to finance growth and industrialization.

“This continent was a victim of brutal colonialism, all the way to slave trade exploitation. We will not allow that to happen again as leaders from this continent. We will take charge of our own destiny,” Ruto said. 

Ruto said the summit marked a turning point in Africa’s relationship with global partners, insisting future engagements must be built on equality and mutual benefit rather than aid dependency.

“We are recalibrating ourselves and we have been absolutely clear that this is a relationship of equals. At the heart of it is sovereign equality. It is not extraction or exploitation, it is investment for mutual benefit,” he said.

The President argued that Africa has sufficient domestic capital to finance its own transformation if properly structured and mobilized. He noted that African pension funds, insurance firms, and reinsurance institutions collectively hold more than $4 trillion in savings that remain underutilized.

“We had a conversation that while we go looking for financing our projects using other people’s money, we already have enough in Africa,” he said.

Ruto said African leaders had agreed to prioritize unlocking domestic financing mechanisms through institutions such as the African Development Bank and the Trade and Development Bank before seeking external borrowing.

“The first thing to do is to unlock our own resources to finance our development,” he said. “We must take the lead as Africa, as policymakers and private sector leaders in taking charge of our own development.”

The President echoed sentiments by Paul Kagame and businessman Aliko Dangote during the summit, saying Africa’s private sector must demonstrate confidence in the continent before expecting foreign investors to do so.

“If our own private sector does not have confidence to invest in the continent, how will others from outside do it?” Ruto posed.

He said African leaders had agreed on three priorities ahead of engagements with the G7 nations, including creating innovative financing mechanisms, strengthening human capital development, and accelerating energy transition and industrialization.

“What we will be asking the G7 will not be asking them for money but to put in collateral capital, to put in guarantees not money,” he said.

Ruto emphasized that Africa’s youth population remains its greatest strategic asset and called for expanded investment in education, internet access, technology, artificial intelligence, and skills training.

“There is no region or country that can industrialize in the dark. We need energy,” he added while discussing Africa’s push for clean energy and industrial transformation.

President Macron backed calls for stronger African representation in global decision-making forums, including the G7, arguing that Africa bears significant consequences from international conflicts despite being excluded from many discussions.

“It is important to have representation of the African continent at G7 on international crises because Africa suffers from these crises,” Macron said.

He cited disruptions caused by the Ukraine war and Middle East tensions, including fertilizer shortages, rising fuel prices, and food supply chain challenges affecting African economies.

Macron also supported reforms to global financial systems and guarantees for African infrastructure financing through African-led institutions, saying the continent must become a full player in global value chains rather than remaining a supplier of raw materials.

“We have to make sure that Africa is part of the conversation and plays a full part as a sovereign player,” he said.