African Experts Urge Governance Reforms, Domestic Resource Mobilization, and Stronger Partnerships to Drive Economic Transformation in Transition States
African economists and development leaders have called for urgent governance reforms, stronger domestic resource mobilization, and innovative partnerships to accelerate economic transformation across the continent’s most vulnerable economies—transition states.
The call came during a high-level Policy Dialogue organized by the African Development Institute (ADI) of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) at the 66th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Economic Society (NES) in Abuja. Themed “Driving Africa’s Economic Transformation in Transition States: The Role of Capacity Development and Knowledge Management,” the session was moderated by Chidiebere Ibe, Chief Capacity Development Officer at ADI, and drew hundreds of delegates, including economists, policymakers, academics, students, and international development partners.
Africa’s 24 transition states, up from 22 in the last four years, face complex political, economic, security, and environmental challenges. According to Eric Ogunleye, Director of the ADI, more than 250 million Africans are directly affected by fragility, with over 44 million forcibly displaced by mid-2024. Conflict-affected countries, he noted, have seen a 20% drop in growth as resources are diverted from development priorities to security.
Opening the dialogue, Abdul Kamara, AfDB Director General for the Nigeria Country Department, stressed that Africa must grow at 7% annually and achieve 3.5% per capita GDP growth for four to five decades to meet Agenda 2063 targets. He highlighted that Africa needs $811 billion annually for inclusive growth and sustainable development but faces a $680 billion funding gap. Transition states alone require $210 billion yearly, with a shortfall of $188 billion.
Kamara emphasized the AfDB’s commitment to inclusive growth, citing Nigeria’s $618 million iDICE program as an example of how the Bank is investing in youth, women, innovation, infrastructure, energy, education, and technology.
Experts agreed that governance reform and conflict resolution are critical prerequisites for development. Emmanuel Owusu-Sekyere, Director of Research, Policy and Programs at the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), noted:
“Efforts must first focus on ending conflict before any developmental activity can start. Good governance and visionary leadership remain the foundation.”
Owusu-Sekyere also warned that corruption and weak political commitment are Africa’s “elephant in the room,” calling on governments to stem illicit financial flows, harness remittances, and pursue non-partisan development plans.
Former Nigerian presidential advisor Adeyemi Dipeolu, now with ADI’s Policy Lab Unit, highlighted Africa’s low tax-to-GDP ratio of 17%, compared with 29% in Latin America and 26% in East Asia. He stressed the need to curb illicit financial flows, which drain $90 billion annually, while leveraging Africa’s $56 billion in remittances (2024).
Jane Mariara, Executive Director of the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP), emphasized opportunities in climate finance, which surged to $137 billion in 2024, and urged transition states to build debt management capacity, expand blended finance mechanisms, and deepen private sector partnerships.
Across the dialogue, experts stressed that sustainable transformation requires capacity development and knowledge management. Ogunleye noted that Africa must move away from “copy-and-paste policies” and create strategies rooted in indigenous knowledge and context-specific realities.
Closing the session, Seedwell Hove, Division Manager at ADI, said:
“Capacity development is foundational to economic growth and transformation, while knowledge management helps scale impact. These must underpin reforms if Africa is to move from fragility to resilience, and from transition to transformation.”
Africa’s transition states can only move from fragility to resilience through bold reforms, stronger institutions, sustainable financing, and partnerships that prioritize governance, inclusion, and homegrown solutions.
