Continental summit to press for shift from aid to self-financing

Africa Think Tank Summit 2025 opens October 7 in Addis Ababa, aiming to bridge policy and implementation in the push for fiscal independence.

More than 300 policymakers, researchers, and development partners will gather in Addis Ababa from Tuesday, October 7, for the Africa Think Tank Summit 2025, aiming to transition the continent from aid dependence to fiscal sovereignty.

The four-day summit, hosted by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) in partnership with the African Union Commission and Ethiopia's Ministry of Finance, will run through Friday, October 10, under the theme "From Taxation to Action: Bridging Policy and Implementation in Public Financial Management in Africa."

ACBF Executive Secretary Mamadou Biteye warned that the summit will confront Africa's persistent struggle to turn fiscal policies into results.

"Africa has committed to public financial management reforms but continues to face low tax-to-GDP ratios and widening debt burdens," Biteye noted.

Finance ministers and senior policymakers will open the week with the 34th ACBF Board of Governors meeting on October 7 before the summit launches a book on African think tanks, a public financial management hackathon and ministerial dialogues.

Fatou Diouf, head of communications at ACBF, stressed that the event aims to strengthen trust between governments and citizens.

"Fiscal sovereignty is essential to finance Africa's priorities in health, education and climate resilience," Diouf explained.

Delegates will also explore digital and financial technology solutions to expand tax bases and improve accountability.

Organisers expect the outcomes to feed into Africa's Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

With external aid in decline, the summit will push governments to build systems that fund their own development, a shift observers view as Africa's most urgent test of independence.