Sahara has urged global investors, governments and development institutions to mobilise more sustainable investment and climate finance to support Africa’s development, strengthen economic resilience and create lasting prosperity.
The call was made by the Group Managing Director of Sahara Power Enterprise Group, Dr Kola Adesina, during a United Nations General Assembly roundtable on sustainable global investment, economic resilience and climate financing.
Adesina said Africa’s development ambitions depended on building productive economies capable of withstanding economic, environmental and geopolitical shocks.
He argued that sustainable investment, economic resilience and climate finance should be treated as connected priorities, particularly as African countries continue to face major challenges in infrastructure, energy, food security and employment.
Nearly 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa still lack access to electricity, while the continent faces an estimated annual infrastructure-financing gap of between $68 billion and $108 billion.
“Africa’s most pressing challenge is expanding its productive capacity at scale. We need sustained investment in energy, infrastructure, industry, agriculture, and enterprise development to create jobs, strengthen competitiveness, and support long-term resilience,” Adesina said.
He noted that the global investment environment offered significant opportunities for African economies. Global foreign direct investment reached approximately $1.6 trillion in 2025, while assets linked to sustainable investment strategies rose to about $16.7 trillion.
According to him, the figures reflected growing investor interest in projects capable of generating financial returns while also delivering social and developmental benefits.
Adesina described climate finance as a major requirement for resilient growth, especially as African countries face increasing exposure to droughts, floods, extreme heat and other climate-related risks.
He noted that the continent contributes less than four per cent of global greenhouse-gas emissions but remains highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
“Africa requires substantial investment not only to grow, but also to protect the infrastructure, businesses, food systems, and communities that underpin development,” he said.
African countries require an estimated $277 billion annually to implement their climate commitments, compared with current climate-finance flows of approximately $30 billion per year.
Adesina said the funding gap demonstrated the need for innovative financing models capable of attracting more private and public capital to climate-mitigation and adaptation projects.
Drawing on Sahara’s experience, he highlighted the company’s investments in liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, gas-to-power infrastructure and logistics.
He said Sahara was also pursuing a net-zero ambition by 2060 through the development of strategic gas infrastructure, the integration of renewable energy and the deployment of nature-based solutions.
The discussion was linked to Sahara’s Beyond XXX platform, a long-term initiative focused on sustainable development through investment, innovation, talent development, collaboration, environmental stewardship and solutions that create lasting value across Africa and beyond.
Adesina called for stronger project preparation to make African investments more attractive and bankable.
He also urged greater mobilisation of African institutional capital, deeper local-currency financing markets and increased regional cooperation in energy, transport and logistics infrastructure.
He said Africa’s opportunity lay in building resilient prosperity, where investment generated productive capacity, employment, reliable infrastructure and sustainable economic growth for future generations.