A panel on "Deepening Domestic Capital Markets" at the African Caucus 2026 in Banjul highlighted the need for Africa to better structure its markets, strengthen confidence, and accelerate regional integration to leverage capital as a driver of economic transformation.

Mobilizing more African savings to finance infrastructure, industrialization, and inclusive growth was a key message from the side event held on July 7 in Banjul, on the margins of the African Caucus 2026. The session brought together several speakers around a shared finding: the continent lacks not only resources but also a sufficiently developed financial architecture to channel available savings toward productive investments.

According to discussions, Africa has growing domestic savings, expanding assets, and significant potential through pension funds, insurance companies, banks, sovereign wealth funds, and the diaspora. The challenge now is to transform these resources into long-term financing, particularly in local currency.

Mohamed Lamine Mbengue from Gaston Berger University in Senegal highlighted structural constraints still hindering African markets: shallow depth, insufficient liquidity, fragmentation, short maturities, limited institutional investor participation, and lack of financial instrument diversification. He advocated for developing infrastructure bonds, green bonds, guarantee mechanisms, and risk-sharing tools.

Botswana's Central Bank Governor Lesego Caster Moseki stressed the need to offer investors bankable, transparent projects capable of generating returns. He also noted the paradox of African capital: some of the continent's institutional resources are invested in developed economies, while African states often borrow externally at higher costs.

Wangari Muikia emphasized that resource mobilization must go hand-in-hand with public spending quality. Poorly prepared projects or miscalibrated borrowing can increase burdens without producing expected results.

The Gambian experience was also discussed through mobilization of national savings and diaspora resources. Governor Buah Saidy cited the potential of transfers from Gambians abroad, estimated at 872 million dollars in 2025.