Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has renewed his call for African countries to deposit at least 30 per cent of their sovereign reserves with key continental financial institutions such as the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Speaking at the 2025 Afreximbank Annual Meetings in Nigeria on Friday, June 27, Akufo-Addo said the move would empower these institutions to better respond to Africa’s pressing development financing needs.
“The institutions that we need to prepare our development are not in our hands,” he stressed, urging countries to stop parking reserves in foreign banks where they often attract negative returns.
The proposal echoes an earlier recommendation he made during his tenure as President of Ghana and as the African Union’s champion for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Akufo-Addo argued that the continent must act decisively to regain control over its financial future.
“We have to put our mouth where our thoughts are. Let’s make the decisions that will enable us to resolve our problems. We can’t do it just by talking,” he said, calling for urgent, collective action to strengthen Afreximbank and AfDB as engines of Africa’s sustainable development.
