Global Africa Forum 2025 to launch Pan-African Infrastructure Fund
The Global Africa Forum (GAF) is set to return with a powerful new agenda that seeks to reposition Africa as a united, self-reliant, and globally competitive continent. This year’s Forum will convene in New York, USA, on Monday, September 22, 2025, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
September’s GAF will be bringing together African heads of state, organizational leaders, private sector investors, innovators, and Global Africans from across the diaspora. The objective: to accelerate regional integration, deepen intra-African trade, and reduce the continent’s dependence on aid through bold, coordinated action.
Under the theme “Africa’s response to tariff wars: Building a prosperous, integrated continent beyond aid,” the high-level gathering will address the urgent need for new economic strategies in the face of rising global protectionism, supply chain disruptions, and donor fatigue. While global tariff wars destabilize markets and weaken traditional trade flows, Africa stands at a unique crossroads, with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offering a path toward greater self-reliance, resilience, and inclusive growth.
A key highlight of the forum will be the unveiling of the ‘Dollar-A-Day’ initiative, an ambitious but achievable campaign proposing the creation of a Pan-African infrastructure fund. The initiative aims to mobilize more than 50 million Africans and Pan-Africans, both on the continent and across the diaspora, to contribute at least one dollar per day. The fund will be used to finance urgently needed infrastructure projects, including roads, railways, and energy systems, that are critical to connecting African economies and facilitating the full implementation of AfCFTA.
The forum’s agenda builds on the Africa Prosperity Dialogue (APD) 2025 Compact and will explore how Africa’s burgeoning 350 million-strong middle class can leverage disposable income toward bankable infrastructure and trade logistics. It will also focus on:
- Designing new trade strategies and unified negotiation tactics to navigate global economic volatility.
- Reducing Africa’s overreliance on foreign aid by prioritizing trade and investment frameworks.
- Driving industrialization through local value addition in sectors such as agro-processing, textiles, and electric vehicle battery production.
- Removing trade barriers, harmonizing customs procedures, and scaling digital platforms like the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).
- Boosting innovation in fintech, e-commerce, and green industries, including renewable energy and critical minerals.
Africa’s current intra-continental trade levels sit at just 15–18%, compared to 60% in Europe, 40–50% in North America, and 20–25% in ASEAN. Experts estimate that this figure could rise to over 40% by 2040 if decisive measures are taken now. The forum will emphasize that regional value chains and climate-smart, digital trade infrastructure must be prioritized to shield African economies from external shocks.
Another significant component of GAF 2025 is the full engagement of the African diaspora, 200 million strong, as vital contributors to Africa’s economic rise. Through both financial and intellectual capital, Global Africans are being called upon to help build the “Africa We Want,” creating sustainable avenues for participation in development projects and policy-shaping conversations.
The event is expected to culminate in the launch of a Global Africa Action Plan (GAAP), outlining practical steps and measurable outcomes, including:
- Fast-tracked AfCFTA ratification across member states.
- Common tariff negotiation frameworks.
- A Digital Trade Corridor Initiative to streamline cross-border e-commerce.
- Official launch and commitments to the Dollar-A-Day Fund.
- A sustainable mechanism for engaging the diaspora in Africa’s economic transformation.
With Africa’s consumer population projected to hit 1.73 billion by 2030, and spending power expected to reach $2.5 trillion, the continent’s potential is immense. The Global Africa Forum 2025 will serve as a clarion call to both Africans and investors worldwide who believe in the continent’s promise and recognize the strategic value of investing in its unified, AfCFTA-driven future.
Learn more about the 2025 GAF by visiting gaf.africaprosperitynetwork.com and freely share your take on the upcoming event.
Compiled by Kweku Sampson for TheAfricanDream Consultancy
Oral Ofori is Founder and Publisher at www.TheAfricanDream.net, a digital storyteller and producer, and also an information and research consultant.
