African economists and development leaders have called for sweeping governance reforms, stronger domestic resource mobilization, and innovative partnerships to accelerate economic transformation across the continent’s transition states. 

The call came at a high-level Policy Dialogue organized by the African Development Institute (ADI) of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) during the 66th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Economic Society (NES) in Abuja. The session, themed “Driving Africa’s Economic Transformation in Transition States: The Role of Capacity Development and Knowledge Management”, was moderated by Chidiebere Ibe, Chief Capacity Development Officer at ADI. 

The session drew hundreds of delegates from across African and globally, including leading economists, policymakers, academics, students, and international development partners.  

Africa’s transition states are the continent’s most vulnerable economies, facing a wide range of political, economic, security and environmental challenges, and striving for greater stability and resilience. 

Opening the dialogue, Abdul Kamara, African Development Bank Director General for the Nigeria Country Department, said Africa must accelerate growth to at least 7% annually and achieve per capita GDP growth of 3.5% for four to five decades to meet the African Union’s Agenda 2063 targets. 

“Africa requires $811 billion per annum in financing to achieve inclusive growth and sustainable development. Yet the continent faces a funding gap of about $680 billion each year,” Kamara said. “Transition states alone require $210 billion annually, with a shortfall of $188 billion.” 

He stressed that inclusive growth—focused on job creation, youth and women empowerment, and reducing structural bottlenecks—is central to the Bank’s approach. Highlighting initiatives such as Nigeria’s $618 million iDICE program to boost innovation and the creative economy. Kamara said the Bank is investing in the youth, women, infrastructure, energy, education, and technology to tackle persistent development challenges. 

Eric Ogunleye, Director of the ADI, underscored the urgency of addressing fragility, noting that 24 African countries are now classified as transition states, up from 22 just in the last four years. 

“Over 250 million Africans are directly affected by fragility, with more than 44 million forcibly displaced by mid-2024,” Ogunleye said. “Conflict-affected countries have suffered a 20% drop in growth and significant declines in social outcomes, as resources are diverted from infrastructure and health to fighting causes of fragility.” 

He warned that hotspots of instability across the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes region threatened long-term development unless countries pursued bold reforms, strengthened governance, and built resilience against climate shocks. 

Both AfDB officials emphasized that sustained transformation requires not only financial resources but also investments in capacity development and knowledge management. “Capacity is crucial to policymaking and institution-building,” Ogunleye said. “We must move away from copy-and-paste policies and develop locally relevant and tailored strategies rooted in indigenous and unique knowledge of the environment.” 

Other experts echoed the call for reforms. Emmanuel Owusu-Sekyere, Director of Research, Policy and Programs at the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), stressed that conflict resolution and governance reform must precede any meaningful development. 

“Efforts must first focus on ending the conflict before any developmental activity can start,” he said. “The most important thing is to ensure reforms focus on establishing good governance and visionary leadership. That is where the buck starts and ends.” 

Owusu-Sekyere warned that corruption and weak political commitment remain Africa’s “elephant in the room.” He urged governments to stem illicit financial flows, harness remittances, and pursue non-partisan development plans. 

On financing, Adeyemi Dipeolu, Faculty Member of the Policy Lab Unit at ADI and erstwhile Advisor to the President of Nigeria on Economic Matters, highlighted Africa’s low tax-to-GDP ratio of 17% compared to 29% in Latin America and 26% in East Asia. 

Dipeolu stressed the importance of tackling illicit financial flows, which cost Africa an estimated $90 billion annually, and leveraging remittances, which rose to $56 billion in 2024. He also cautioned against unsustainable borrowing: “Out of the countries in debt distress worldwide, seven of nine are African,” he stated. 

Jane Mariara, Executive Director of the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP), pointed to shrinking development assistance but highlighted opportunities in climate finance flows to Africa, which surged to $137 billion in 2024. 

She called for stronger debt management capacity and wider use of blended finance and risk-sharing instruments: “Transition states must prioritize building institutional capacity, while partnerships with the private sector can unlock new resources.” 

Across the dialogue, experts agreed that transformation in Africa’s transition states will depend on strong governance, coherent development strategies, sustainable financing, and robust partnerships. 

In his closing remarks, Seedwell Hove, Division Manager, Policy Management Division at the African Development Institute, stated that one of the key takeaways from the policy dialogue is that capacity development is foundational to economic growth and transformation, while knowledge management helps to scale impact. These must underpin reforms if Africa is to move from fragility to resilience, and from transition to transformation.