Overview
- Macron announced Monday at Nairobi’s Africa Forward summit a €23 billion package for Africa, including €14 billion from French financiers and €9 billion from African investors.
- He said the money will back energy transition, digital tools, and farming projects, and he claimed it could create more than 250,000 direct jobs in Africa and France.
- The French leader urged Europe to invest rather than rely on classic development aid, citing tighter aid budgets and casting Europe as a partner on equal terms.
- The two-day gathering drew about 30 African heads of state, UN chief António Guterres, and thousands of delegates to focus on financing across the economy, security, climate, health, and education.
- France is steering toward partnerships with stronger anglophone economies such as Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria as its influence has faded in Sahel states, and Macron’s on-stage scolding of a noisy audience drew online criticism during the event.