'Africa can no longer rely solely on external sources of finance': Olivier Noel reveals AFIS 2025 main theme

Six urgent priorities will shape Africa’s financial sovereignty – and they’re set to take centre stage at AFIS 2025 in Casablanca, says the Secretary General of the AFIS Supervisory Council.

 Olivier Noel, Secretary General of the AFIS Supervisory Council, the governing body of AFIS, said: “In a fragmented world where international capital is becoming scarcer and more selective, Africa can no longer rely solely on external sources of finance.”

The continent will need to look to mobilising domestic capital to fund strategic projects in energy, infrastructure and digital transformation, said Noel, who sits on the Boards of Rawbank and Bank of Africa.

As the Africa Financial Summit – AFIS 2025 gears up to convene 1,250 industry decisionmakers on 3 & 4 November 2025 in Casablanca, he outlined six priorities for the discussions:

1 – Unlocking African institutional capital through streamlined regulations for pension and insurance fund
2 – Expanding passporting rights to allow innovation to flow – an inative that has been highly successful in Europe
3 – Supporting and finance local champions in sectors where international companies are dominate, such as in energy, logistics and natural resources
4 – Making local stock exchanges and fintech platforms central to capital formation for SMEs
5 – Strengthening insurance markets to address emerging cyber security, climate change and supply chain disruptions
6 – Supporting regulatory interoperability and Pan-African initiatives such as the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System – PAPSS, the African Exchanges Linkage Project – AELP and the African Continental Free Trade Area – AfCFTA.

“Africa can and must design its own financial instruments to build sustainable, inclusive and resilient growth,” said Noel.

Discover the main theme for AFIS 2025 in full HERE.
Register for the Summit HERE.