African Development Bank Group (AfDB) Executive Director Rufus N. Darkortey has called on countries of the Global South to reimagine economic growth and infrastructure development through bold and innovative homegrown solutions.
Addressing the Africa -Caribbean Infrastructure Forum recently, Mr. Darkortey said emphasis must be anchored in domestic resource mobilization and a strong resilient domestic private sector to fast-track their transition from low to middle-income status.
The forum was held on the margins of the 2025 World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., on April 25, 2025.
It was co-hosted by SmartDev and the Africa Canada Trade and Investment Venture (ACTIV). The Forum brought together senior policymakers, development finance leaders, and private sector actors, including Haiti's Minister of Finance Alfred Fils Metellus, to chart a new agenda for infrastructure financing and inclusive growth.
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Darkortey called for a new development compact where Africa and the Caribbean must embrace a new economic growth and infrastructure development model built on resilience, internal capacity, economic sovereignty, and homegrown solutions, while leveraging the opportunities of the current international development model.
He believes that sustainable growth and development begins and ends with countries building robust domestic economies that are driven by domestic resource mobilization and stronger domestic private sector development as the two key foundational drivers of accelerated infrastructure development and economic growth across Africa and the Caribbean. He therefore advocates for expanding fiscal space, modernizing public financial management, and strengthening domestic private sector actors, particularly SMEs, which accounts for over 90% of businesses in Africa and a significant share across the Global South.
He believes that by boosting domestic revenue and supporting local enterprises, countries can unlock the internal capital needed to drive sustainable development across all sectors of the economy, such as healthcare, education, agriculture, and infrastructure, while also advancing innovation and improving sovereign debt sustainability. This transformational approach is central to his economic philosophy in transforming low-income countries into middle and high-income countries to break the cycle of poverty and underdevelopment, while promoting empowerment for youth, women, and fragile communities.
While acknowledging and appreciating the global development partners, Darkortey emphasized that the next chapter of development must be driven by African and Caribbean resources that are mobilized domestically, while leveraging the successes of the current international system. "This is not a rejection of international cooperation," he said, "but a call to evolve the current development financing model."
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Africa and the Caribbean have made strides, but infrastructure gaps remain stark. Africa added over 1.9 million kilometers of roads since 1995, but only 30% are paved. The Caribbean's rate is 52%, both far behind East Asia's 92%.
Electricity access remains limited with just 58% in Africa and 82% in the Caribbean, compared to the near-universal access in Europe and Asia. The World Bank notes that every 1% increase in paved roads leads to a 0.3% GDP rise, underscoring the cost of inadequate infrastructure in these regions.
On development financing, Africa invests 3.1% of its GDP in infrastructure, with only 12% coming from the private sector. The Caribbean spends just 2.5% of its GDP, with 5% private financing involved. Asia, by contrast, invests 8% and secures 42% private funding.
