African leaders have committed to closing a funding shortfall that threatens the work of one of the continent’s main development bodies, after warning that declining contributions from member states are compromising its ability to serve African citizens.
The commitment came in the Alamein Declaration, adopted on October 3 by the heads of state and government of Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa. The five founding members of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) agreed to establish the Alamein Investment Platform by February 2027 and to launch a continental facility for small and medium-sized enterprises by mid-2027. Both measures aim to ease the severe financial constraints facing the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD).
For ordinary Africans, the stakes are concrete. The declaration reaffirmed the private sector, small and medium-sized enterprises, youth, and women as engines for innovation, sustainable industrialisation, and job creation. The planned SME and value chain facility, due at the mid-2027 AU Coordination Summit, will report on the enterprises it supports and on jobs created for young people and women, two groups the leaders singled out as central to the continent’s economic future.
The summit marked the 25th anniversary of NEPAD’s evolution into AUDA-NEPAD and was held alongside the eighth African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting and the inaugural Alamein Africa Business Forum. Those attending included the African Union chairperson representing Burundi, the AUDA-NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee chair representing Angola, the AU Commission chairperson, and the AUDA-NEPAD chief executive.
What changed in tone: the leaders expressed serious concern over the drop in financial contributions from African member states to the agency’s programme budget, saying it undermines the body’s capacity to fulfil its mandate. They also pointed to broader development finance constraints, shifting geopolitical dynamics, and Africa’s underrepresentation in global financial governance. Marking a quarter-century of the institution, they argued, requires moving from project-by-project interventions to continent-wide transformation, and demands renewed political will to fund, trust, and defend African institutions through practical measures.
To turn summit commitments into measurable results, the declaration mandated four outputs, coordinated by AUDA-NEPAD, the AU Commission, Regional Economic Communities, and African multilateral development banks. Beyond the investment platform and the SME facility, these include a curated portfolio of bankable, investment-ready flagship projects to be presented for private and blended finance, with financial closure rates tracked. They also include the operationalisation within 18 months of at least one African-led de-risking and blended finance tool, drawing on commitments from the Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions to include project preparation and risk mitigation facilities. The Alamein Investment Platform itself will consolidate private capital pledges from the Alamein forum, with portfolio values reported every two years.
Meanwhile, the declaration instructed AUDA-NEPAD to reposition itself as a more flexible and responsive institution, citing the February 2025 AU Summit decision (AU/Dec. 283 (XIV)) and earlier mandates for agility. The agency must submit proposals to the next HSGOC meeting for more adaptable staff and financial regulations. Member states were urged to mobilise additional resources, increase predictable core funding to offset budget cuts, and provide voluntary contributions. At the same time, leaders encouraged AUDA-NEPAD to expand its presence through a demand-driven “Footprint Initiative,” noting a growing number of states asking to host national offices at their own expense.
Recalling the February 2026 AU Summit decision (Assembly/AU/11/(XXXIX)), the leaders welcomed the Alamein Africa Business Forum as a permanent biennial platform in Egypt, tasked with mobilising African private capital for the Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063, the roadmap for inclusive growth, structural transformation, regional integration, human capital development, and climate resilience.
The founding members celebrated 25 years of progress in infrastructure, agricultural transformation, regional value chains, and institutional capacity, while acknowledging persistent gaps in finance, execution, and coordination. They reiterated the foundational commitments made at NEPAD’s 2001 inception and its 2002 adoption by the AU, including good governance, democracy, peace, sustainable development, mutual accountability, and the protection of rights and freedoms for all Africans, including migrants.
To sustain the momentum, the declaration stressed integrating AUDA-NEPAD’s work with AU Commission development commissioners, the Regional Economic Communities, and member states through the “African Team” initiative. The summit closed with appreciation for host Egypt and co-convener Angola, a pledge to convene the founding members periodically, and a renewed commitment to a self-reliant, peaceful, and integrated Africa funded by predictable, African-owned capital.
Whether the promised core funding arrives in time to protect the agency’s programmes for citizens, and whether the SME facility delivers its first jobs report by mid-2027, will show if the Alamein Declaration marks a turning point or another anniversary promise.