Africa has officially run out of excuses to rely on foreign bailouts. That was the unvarnished message delivered in Nairobi this week, where financial heavyweights and policymakers gathered to confront a stark reality: the era of easy external credit is over, and the continent must now fund its own future.

Speaking at the Africa Investment Conference (AfIC) 2025, experts warned that the traditional model of funding infrastructure through Eurobonds and foreign aid has left nations vulnerable to global shocks. The consensus? It is time to look inward. The conference, convened by the CFA Society East Africa, laid out a blueprint for mobilizing domestic resources to plug a funding gap that continues to stifle growth from Lagos to Nairobi.

The End of the Foreign Debt Era

For decades, African governments have looked West—and increasingly East—to finance roads, dams, and power plants. But with the continent’s debt burden reportedly crossing the $1.15 trillion (approx. KES 150 trillion) mark, the bill is coming due. Principal Secretary for Investment Promotion, Abubakar Hassan Abubakar, did not mince words, describing the current moment as a definitive "turning point" for the region.

“For us to compete globally, we must unlock capital within our borders, accelerate the growth of both our private and public capital markets, and build deeper financial market linkages,” Abubakar noted. His argument strikes a chord with many Kenyan economists who have long argued that excessive foreign borrowing imports inflation and weakens the shilling.

The logic is simple but brutal: when a country borrows in dollars but collects taxes in shillings, every drop in the local currency makes the debt more expensive to service. By shifting to domestic funding, nations can insulate themselves from the whims of the US Federal Reserve.

Kenya’s Strategy: A Regional Gateway

For Kenya, the stakes are personal. The government is aggressively positioning the country not just as a participant, but as the primary gateway for investment into East Africa. Abubakar emphasized that the state is overhauling its regulatory framework to make this happen.

• Ease of Doing Business: Streamlining the bureaucratic red tape that often frustrates local investors.
• Investor Protections: Strengthening laws to ensure that when Kenyans put money into local enterprises, their assets are safe.
• Market Linkages: Connecting the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) more effectively with other African bourses to create a larger pool of capital.

“The Government of Kenya is committed to... supporting initiatives that unlock capital for enterprise growth, innovation, and sustainable development,” the PS added. For the average Kenyan entrepreneur, this could eventually mean easier access to credit, as a deeper capital market reduces the government's need to crowd out the private sector in borrowing.

Moving From Talk to Action

Conferences in Nairobi are famous for high-minded rhetoric that rarely survives the drive to the airport. However, Francis Nasyomba, President of the CFA Society East Africa, insisted that AfIC 2025 is designed to break that cycle. He framed the event as a catalyst for policy shifts rather than just a talk shop.

“By bringing together policymakers, capital providers, and market practitioners, we are creating a foundation for stronger financial markets and better-aligned investment flows that drive shared prosperity,” Nasyomba explained. The goal is to dismantle the long-standing barriers to intra-African capital flows—essentially making it as easy for a Nigerian pension fund to invest in a Kenyan toll road as it is for a Wall Street firm.

As the delegates dispersed, the challenge remained clear. The capital exists—Africa’s pension funds alone hold billions of dollars in assets. The question is no longer if Africa can fund itself, but whether its leaders have the political will to build the systems that make it possible.