Professors urge Africa to rethink finance and embrace bold growth

Abuja. Two of the world’s leading thinkers on development, Prof Jeffrey Sachs and Dr Kishore Mahbubani, have urged African countries to reject conventional economic advice and adopt a new approach that prioritises investment, integration and self-belief.

Speaking on the final day of the 32nd Afreximbank Annual Meetings in Abuja, Sachs delivered a provocative assessment of the continent’s position in global finance.

“Africa needs more debt, not less debt,” he declared, arguing that global institutions have systematically denied Africa the capital needed to grow.

“The world saves $30 trillion a year. Africa gets a trickle—sometimes negative flows,” he said.

Drawing comparisons with China and India, Sachs said, “There are three places with 1.5 billion people—China, India, and Africa. China’s turn lasted 40 years. India’s turn is happening now. Africa’s turn starts today.”

 He outlined a bold path forward: increase education completion rates to 100 per cent, raise infrastructure investment to 40 per cent of GDP, and launch a “Made in Africa 2035” strategy.

Sachs criticised global credit rating agencies for applying “crude, cookie-cutter methods” to African sovereign debt, particularly the “sovereign ceiling” rule, which blocks domestic firms from outperforming government credit ratings.

“They constrain entire private sectors with this approach,” he said.

Dr Mahbubani, a former Singaporean diplomat and scholar, offered lessons from Asia’s rise. He recalled how Malaysia once copied Singapore’s investment brochure word-for-word to attract capital. “Start small, celebrate modest wins, and learn systematically,” he advised. Referring to Vietnam’s early mistrust of foreign investors, he warned against renegotiating deals and urged Africa to “treat investors as partners, not adversaries.”

Mahbubani stressed the need for regional unity. “Africa’s 55 separate economies must function as one unified market,” he said, citing India’s outdated tax system as a cautionary tale of internal barriers. Both speakers called for stronger roles for African institutions like Afreximbank. “These institutions absolutely need preferred creditor status,” said Sachs. “Anyone saying different—whether the Paris Club or Bretton Woods—is not speaking for Africa’s interests.”

Beyond finance, Mahbubani pointed to a deeper transformation underway across Asia—one rooted in confidence.

“The biggest revolution was psychological,” he said. “Four-and-a-half billion Asians stopped thinking they were inferior to the West.” Sachs agreed, arguing that no amount of capital or policy reform can substitute for belief in Africa’s potential.

The session concluded with a call to action: Africa must stop waiting for validation from outside and instead pursue a growth agenda built on its own terms. “Africa’s economic potential exceeds that of slower-growing developed economies,” Sachs said. “It’s time to act.”