NAIROBI, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Africa Capital Week 2026 in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, witnessed more than 500 delegates from 16 African nations adopting a landmark declaration to accelerate cross-border investments on Wednesday.
The delegates adopted the Nairobi Declaration for Deepening Africa's Capital Markets, which aims to strengthen the continent's capacity to mobilize and deploy domestic capital to fund key development priorities.
The declaration mandates the formation of the African Securities Regulators Association to address shared regulatory challenges and harmonize cross-border rules that currently impede capital mobility.
It directs stock exchanges to accelerate integration via the African Securities Exchanges Association through advanced technology, while tasking market intermediaries with expanding intra-African securities trading via the Africa Stockbrokers and Securities Dealers Association.
Formally closing the three-day main forum, Bonface Makokha, principal secretary for the state department for economic planning in Kenya's National Treasury, emphasized that a development priority does not automatically translate into an investable asset.
"We must convert our plans into credible projects, our projects into bankable assets, and our investments into measurable improvements in productivity, employment and household welfare," Makokha said.
He emphasized that while governments cannot finance every initiative directly, they play a critical role in creating the regulatory and structural conditions necessary to make a far larger share of African projects financeable.
"Our success will not be measured by the declarations we make, but by capital mobilized, enterprises financed, projects delivered, markets deepened and jobs created. That is why our commitment to review progress every six months matters," he said.
Delegates pledged to channel a larger share of domestic pension savings into regional projects by establishing a Pan-African Infrastructure Fund, while working with the African Union Commission to embed capital markets into the Agenda 2063 framework.
The declaration urges financial stakeholders to fund trade opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area and advocates eliminating tax, foreign exchange, and regulatory barriers to capital flows, provided investor protections and system stability remain intact.
Emmanuel K. Nzai, chairman of Kenya's Vision 2030 Delivery Board and the Africa Capital Week 2026 Organizing Committee, said the initiative aims to build the institutional framework needed to connect African capital with large-scale investment opportunities and build the cross-border trust required to fund the continent's development goals.
The forum featured 20 investment-ready projects spanning energy, food security, transport, trade, technology, social infrastructure, minerals, and private sector development. Dedicated sessions analyzed financing structures for each asset, evaluating debt, equity, blended finance, guarantees, and public-private partnerships. ■