Shrinking Resources of Development Finance Institutes (DFIs) and the Threat to SDGs Implementation, especially in Africa

The global development agenda has reached a critical turning point, marked by a deepening crisis of finance unfolding amid intense geopolitical entanglement and unprecedented global realignment. The financing gap for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has not just widened—it has catapulted, now surpassing $4 trillion, exposing the systemic fragility of the global development architecture and the erosion of collective commitment to shared global priorities.

As the world bifurcates into polarized blocs, cooperation is being subordinated to strategic competition, where development finance is exploited as an instrument of geopolitical influence and national interest. This reorientation of priorities is clearly visible in the actions of major donors like the United Kingdom and the United States ’s and the European Union’s assertive pivot toward "geopolitical interests"—all signal the conclusion of needs-based development. Consequently, Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), Africa’s essential source of long-term capital, are operating under immense, unsustainable strain. 

This session will confront this new strategic reality. We will debate how Africa can assert its strategic non-alignment, demand profound institutional reform from DFIs, and implement innovative financial strategies to secure the trillions required for the SDGs, ensuring the continent does not become a casualty of the shifting global order.