WASHINGTON D.C. – Former African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Dr. Donald Kaberuka, delivered a stark message on Tuesday, urging African nations to build strong, independent, and integrated institutions to secure their future in a world where the old rules of global cooperation are rapidly fraying. Speaking at the prestigious 9th Babacar Ndiaye Lecture, held on the sidelines of the World Bank Group and IMF Annual Meetings, Kaberuka warned, “the world is not waiting for Africa; therefore, Africa must not wait for the world.”

His remarks come at a critical time for Kenya, which is navigating its own intricate path with these very global financial bodies. Recently, the World Bank has conditioned the release of a KSh96.9 billion loan on Kenya narrowing its budget deficit, a move that could necessitate further tax increases or austerity measures. This follows a period of intense engagement with the IMF, whose loan conditions have often included politically sensitive policies like raising taxes and restructuring state-owned enterprises. Kaberuka’s warning against reliance on “conditional generosity” directly echoes ongoing national debates about fiscal sovereignty and the true cost of external financing.

The Five Global Headwinds

Dr. Kaberuka, who led the AfDB for two terms from 2005 to 2015, identified five critical global trends that are reshaping the international economic landscape to Africa's potential detriment. These are: the return of mercantilism, a rise in narrow national interests, the end of the foreign aid era, the weakening of global institutions, and a significant erosion of multilateralism. He argued that the post-World War II institutions, which have governed global finance for decades, were never designed to solve Africa’s unique challenges and can no longer be relied upon.

“Strong nations are built on strong, homegrown institutions; not on borrowed ideas,” Kaberuka stated, emphasizing the need for the continent to turn inward for solutions while simultaneously advocating for a reformed global financial architecture. This sentiment has been previously voiced by Kenyan President William Ruto, who has called on the World Bank and IMF to better reflect African priorities and treat the continent as a legitimate stakeholder.

An 'Ecosystem' for African Progress

The solution, according to Kaberuka, is not to build institutions in isolation but to create a coordinated “ecosystem” for development. He used the metaphor of an orchestra to describe his vision: “Like an orchestra, African financial institutions on their own will not get to the end point... They have to operate together in a symphony.” This ecosystem must integrate finance, trade, peace and security, health, and governance sectors to work in harmony.

This call for integration is particularly relevant for the East African Community (EAC), where progress on creating unified financial and trade systems has been steady but challenging. While intra-EAC trade surpassed $11 billion in 2024, showing the potential of regional collaboration, non-tariff barriers and differing national priorities remain obstacles. Kaberuka’s vision suggests that deepening this regional integration is not merely an option but an imperative for weathering global economic shifts.

He commended the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the host of the lecture, for exemplifying this integrated model through its support for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

The Legacy of Babacar Ndiaye

The lecture series is held in honour of the late Dr. Babacar Ndiaye, the fifth President of the AfDB, who was a driving force behind the creation of Afreximbank. The event, themed “Leveraging Global Africa's Capital for Development,” convened policymakers, financiers, and business leaders from across Africa and the United States to discuss strategies for mobilizing the continent's own capital to reduce external dependency. Kaberuka noted that with over $1.1 trillion held by African pension and sovereign wealth funds, the challenge is creating models to deploy this capital for Africa, by Africa.

Dr. Kaberuka, a Rwandan economist who served as his country's Minister of Finance and Economic Planning from 1997 to 2005, is credited with overseeing Rwanda's post-conflict economic reconstruction and significantly expanding the AfDB's impact, tripling its capital to USD 100 billion during his tenure. His call to action in Washington serves as a powerful reminder that for Kenya and the wider continent, the path to sustainable development and economic sovereignty lies in the strength and synergy of its own institutions.