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Macron Unveils USD27B Africa Investment Pledge
(MENAFN) French President Emmanuel Macron announced a sweeping €23 billion ($27 billion) investment package targeting Africa on Monday, positioning Paris as a strategic economic partner on the continent as it faces intensifying competition from Washington and Beijing.
The announcement came as Macron brought the curtain down on the Africa Forward business forum in Nairobi, Kenya, with a French broadcaster reporting the figures, citing the Élysée Palace.
France to Anchor the Bulk of Funding
Of the total pledge, €14 billion ($16 billion) will be drawn exclusively from French sources — a combination of private-sector actors and projects channeled through French development aid operators, according to the broadcaster. The remaining €9 billion ($10.5 billion) is expected to be mobilized from African investors.
Macron framed the initiative as a catalyst for job creation on both sides of the Mediterranean.
"These investments will create more than 250,000 direct jobs in France and Africa," he said.
A Deliberate Shift in Strategy
Beyond the headline figures, Macron signaled that the package represents a fundamental rethinking of how Paris engages with the African continent — describing it as a "change in approach" amid growing scrutiny of France's historically fraught ties with its former colonies.
His remarks carried an unmistakable geopolitical undercurrent, with a pointed reference to the dominant influence of rival powers.
"Many solutions are made in the United States or in China," Macron said, before casting the initiative in terms of shared sovereignty and collective resilience.
"I believe we are engaged in a common struggle (…) which consists of building our strategic autonomy for Europe and Africa. And if we build it together, we will be much stronger," he added.
The announcement arrives at a pivotal moment for French-African relations, as several nations across the continent have in recent years distanced themselves from Paris — some expelling French troops and pivoting toward Russian and Chinese partnerships instead.
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