Africa’s development challenges are getting harder to ignore.
Traditional aid is shrinking. The cost of responding to global crises is rising. Climate change is putting more pressure on communities and economies, while countries are still trying to recover from the economic effects of the wars.
So, where does the money needed for development come from? That was one of the big questions running through Day Two of the Africa Social Impact Summit 2026, themed “Financing for Development: Building Resilience, and Transforming Emerging Economies.”
The conversations moved beyond the usual talk about funding. Instead, they looked at how governments, development organisations, investors, foundations and the private sector can work together to move money towards solutions that can create lasting impact.
The Development Financing Gap Is Getting Bigger
The numbers presented during the sessions painted a difficult picture.
Official Development Assistance (ODA) reportedly fell by 23.1% in 2025, described as the largest single-year decline on record, bringing total aid mobilised to about $174 billion. At the same time, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals requires an estimated $2.5 trillion in additional financing every year.
The gap is significant, and the pressures are coming from different directions.
The economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still being felt. The Russia-Ukraine war has affected food supply chains. Climate-related disasters continue to disrupt communities and economies, while geopolitical tensions and disruptions to energy markets add to the cost of doing business.
The result is a development financing challenge that traditional aid alone cannot solve.
From Funding to Financing
One of the key ideas from the day’s conversations was that development organisations may need to think differently about how they use the money they already have. Instead of relying entirely on grants, institutions can use grant funding to reduce investment risks and attract additional capital from the private sector and social investors.
In simple terms, the idea is to use available funding to unlock even more funding.
This does not mean traditional donors are no longer important. It means their resources can potentially be used to attract other forms of capital and support financial models that can continue beyond the lifespan of a single grant.
The question then becomes less about how much money can be given away and more about how much capital can be mobilised towards solving development challenges.
What Happens When We Invest in Women and Young People?
Another major conversation focused on gender and youth-responsive financing.
The session, “Investing in Inclusion: How Gender and Youth-Responsive Financing Drives Economic Transformation,” powered by Plan International Nigeria, examined what happens when financing is designed around the realities of the people it is meant to serve.
Nigeria is a young country, with more than 60% of its population under the age of 30. That makes young people an important part of the country’s economic future. Women are equally important to that future, particularly as entrepreneurs and contributors to household and community economies. But having the potential to contribute is not the same as having access to the resources needed to do so.
The Right Financing Can Change the Outcome
Experiences from public interventions such as the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) were used to highlight the potential of targeted financing. The discussions noted that female entrepreneurs have performed strongly in areas such as loan repayment and programme participation.
The point is worth considering.
When people are given access to financing that reflects their circumstances, they have a better chance of using that financing effectively.
For smaller and informal businesses, access to collateral-free loans and single-digit interest rates can make a significant difference. The LSETF’s 9% SME loan programme was cited as an example of how more accessible financing can help informal businesses formalise and grow. But access to money is not always enough.
Sometimes, the Problem Is Everything Around the Money
One of the most interesting points from the discussions was that development programmes can fail when they focus on the main problem but ignore the smaller problems surrounding it.
Consider education.
A programme may be designed to bring children who are out of school back into the classroom. That sounds straightforward. But what happens if the child cannot safely get to school? What if there is no access to clean water or adequate sanitation? What if the family cannot afford some of the basic costs associated with keeping the child in school?
These issues may not appear in the original problem statement, but they can determine whether the intervention succeeds.
This is why financing needs to be more thoughtful.
Gender-Responsive Budgets Are Not Just About Women
The discussions around gender-responsive financing also showed why targeted budgeting matters. Initiatives in Kano State were cited as examples of how funding designed around specific gender-related challenges can support the reintegration of out-of-school girls into education.
The larger lesson is that equality does not always mean giving everyone the same thing.
Sometimes, it means understanding why certain groups face different barriers and directing resources towards removing those barriers.
The Real Test Begins After the Summit
Perhaps the most important message from Day Two was not about money. It was about what happens next.
It is easy to attend a summit, listen to experts, exchange ideas and leave feeling inspired.
The harder part is doing something with what was discussed. Throughout the summit, attendees were encouraged to build meaningful connections across sectors and leave with at least 10 actionable partners.
The idea was simple. The conversations should not end when the event does. Because partnerships can open doors. But it is what happens after the introduction that determines whether those partnerships create impact.
Day Two of ASIS 2026 made one thing clear: Africa does not only need more conversations about development. It needs financing that reaches the right people. It needs investment that responds to real barriers. It needs partnerships that bring different strengths together. And it needs people willing to turn good ideas into actual work.
As Olapeju Ibekwe, CEO OneFoundation says, “The talk shop can only take us so far.
It is time to get to work.”
