Africa’s infrastructure financing conversation has long been dominated by concerns over limited capital. Governments across the continent routinely cite funding shortages as the primary reason roads, railways, power plants, ports, and other critical projects fail to materialise. Yet, according to Bowale Odumade, founder and chief executive officer of SeedTree Capital, the continent’s biggest obstacle is not the absence of money but the absence of well-prepared, bankable projects capable of attracting long-term investors.
Odumade argues that Africa already possesses significant pools of domestic institutional capital. Pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds collectively control more than $2 trillion in long-term assets, but only a small fraction is invested in infrastructure. Closing the continent’s infrastructure gap, he says, will depend less on finding new sources of finance and more on creating commercially viable projects with credible sponsors, sound governance, and appropriate risk structures.
Drawing on more than two decades of experience advising governments, investors and infrastructure developers across Africa and other emerging markets, Odumade believes the investment landscape is undergoing a structural shift. Local capital is becoming increasingly important, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations are now influencing financing decisions, while regional integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is creating new opportunities for cross-border infrastructure investment.
