Oyedele urges global action on affordable financing for Africa
By Onu Okorie

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has called on the international community to increase the availability of affordable capital to finance infrastructure and development across Africa.
Oyedele made the call while addressing the United Nations Dialogue on Solutions to Climate Finance on the margins of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
In a statement issued by the Head of Information and Public Relations, Efe Ovuakporie, the minister said Africa’s development ambitions, particularly its energy needs, remained constrained by high financing costs, currency risks and limited access to affordable, long-term capital.
He said that despite Africa’s relatively low contribution to global carbon emissions, the continent continued to face what he described as a “prejudice premium” and “narrative cost” when mobilising financing for critical infrastructure.
Oyedele also identified currency risk and what he termed a “stereotype tax” as additional burdens confronting African countries seeking to raise capital for critical energy and other development projects.
He called for a strategic shift in the global approach to climate finance, advocating simpler access to affordable capital for developing countries and financing arrangements that better reflect their development realities.
The minister also urged the international community to increase investment in gas and other transition energy sources, particularly in Africa, to expand access to reliable and affordable energy and help tackle global energy poverty.
According to him, increased investment in Africa’s energy sector would not only support the continent’s development but also help diversify global energy supplies and reduce concentration risks, particularly amid disruptions affecting the Gulf region.
Oyedele stressed that Africa’s energy transition must take into account the continent’s significant energy-access deficit. He said greater investment was needed to enable African countries to meet their development needs while pursuing a practical transition towards cleaner energy sources.
On Nigeria, the minister said the immediate priority was to develop and implement policies and programmes aimed at reducing poverty, expanding economic opportunities and accelerating the distribution of shared prosperity.
He added that achieving these objectives would require stronger international cooperation and a financing framework that would enable developing countries to mobilise the capital needed to invest in infrastructure and improve the lives of their citizens.