Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 14 February 2026 – H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, participated in a High-Level Dialogue on the New African Financial Architecture (NAFA), where he emphasised the need to unlock African private capital, close trade-related infrastructure gaps, scale up industrial financing, and ensure value addition from Africa’s critical minerals as part of a coherent approach to sustainable economic transformation.

The dialogue was convened by the African Development Bank Group to strengthen Africa’s capacity to finance inclusive growth and job creation. The President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, underscored the urgency of strategic and collective action to mobilise resources at scale and build an integrated financial architecture for the continent.

Leaders from AfCFTA institutions, African Union entities, and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) welcomed the NAFA initiative and reaffirmed the importance of stronger coordination, co-design, and effective oversight of regional projects and value chains, alongside complementary regional policies to support effective implementation.