Business Reporter
ACCOMPLISHED banker and finance expert, Dr John Mangudya has called for African led financial solutions as the only gateway towards sustainable growth across the continent.
The former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor made the remarks as he addressed delegates at the 2025 Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAM2025) underway in Nigeria this week where he underscored the need to desist from reliance on external sources of funding.
Mangudya said the continent’s financial systems must commit themselves to the process of finding a lasting solution to Africa’s financial capacity. He said institutions like Afreximbank, the Africa Finance Corporation, and the African Development Bank has been actively working to address.
“However, the gap remains enormous, and given its scale, all countries must contribute their efforts to ensure the trade finance gap is filled.We need to leverage these assets effectively to allocate funds towards closing the trade finance gap. Second, we must encourage domestic savings through bonds and the development of capital markets,” he said.
Mangudya said there is need to deepen Africa’s capital markets and bemoaned the fact that currently, only a handful of countries have visible stock exchanges which need expansion.
“Why? Because robust capital markets attract investment. Regulators and governments must implement incentives—such as tax breaks—to encourage businesses to participate actively in these markets.”
He highlighted the need to boost intra-African trade, citing the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System as critical infrastructure for the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“Such platforms enable value exchange through efficient payment systems. Today’s discussion is vital—it centres on enhancing Africa’s financial ecosystem and addressing its challenges. We need action, not just talk. The vision of an African Economic and Financial Union—where central banks harmonise policies and adopt continental financial instruments—must move from rhetoric to reality,” he said.
The Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF) CEO said the time for an African-led solution is now. We must unite under the principle of ‘Africa by Africans, for Africans’ to finalise trade integration.
