SAHARA SEEKS BIGGER INVESTMENT PUSH TO FUND AFRICA’S CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS

Sahara Power Enterprise Group has called for stronger mobilisation of sustainable investment and climate finance to support Africa’s development, strengthen economic resilience and address the continent’s infrastructure and energy challenges. The Group Managing Director of Sahara Power Enterprise Group, Dr Kola Adesina, made the call at a United Nations General Assembly roundtable on Sustainable Global Investment, Economic Resilience and Climate Financing in New York, where he said Africa needed sustained investment across productive sectors to build economies capable of withstanding economic, environmental and geopolitical shocks.

Adesina said investment should be directed towards energy, infrastructure, industry, agriculture and enterprise development to expand productive capacity, create jobs and improve competitiveness. He noted that almost 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa still lack access to electricity, while the continent faces an estimated annual infrastructure financing gap of between $68bn and $108bn. According to him, addressing these challenges requires investment strategies that connect economic growth with resilience and long-term development rather than treating climate finance as a separate issue.

The Sahara executive also highlighted the significant gap between Africa’s climate financing requirements and the funds currently available. He said African countries require about $277bn annually to implement their climate commitments, while climate finance flows stand at roughly $30bn per year. He argued that the shortfall makes it necessary to develop innovative financing structures capable of attracting more private and institutional capital for both climate mitigation and adaptation projects, particularly as African countries face increasing risks from droughts, floods, extreme heat and other climate-related events.

Adesina said Africa could attract more investment by improving project preparation, mobilising African institutional capital and developing deeper local-currency financing markets. He also called for stronger regional cooperation in energy, transport and logistics infrastructure. He pointed to the global investment market as a potential source of capital, noting that foreign direct investment reached about $1.6tn in 2025, while assets linked to sustainable investment strategies had risen to $16.7tn globally. He said more of these funds could be directed towards African projects capable of delivering both financial returns and measurable development benefits.

Drawing from Sahara’s operations, Adesina highlighted the group’s investments in liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, gas-to-power infrastructure and logistics, as well as its ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060 through gas infrastructure, renewable energy and nature-based solutions. He maintained that Africa’s development opportunity lies in building resilient economies where investment translates into productive capacity, jobs, reliable infrastructure and sustainable growth. He urged governments, investors and financial institutions to deepen collaboration and create financing mechanisms that can unlock more capital for Africa’s development and climate resilience.