• Sustainable Finance

Mobilising Domestic Resources to finance Development and Transitions: Building Robust Institutions for Sustainable Africa-Europe Financing Pathways 

  • The Africa-Europe Foundation

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Date: 5th February 2026, 9:00 to 12:00 CET
Venue: Square de Meeûs 5-6, 1000 Brussels
Co-Organiers: Africa-Europe Foundation & Caisse des Dépôts (France)

Financing development and major economic, social and climate transitions has become one of the most pressing challenges for both European and African economies. While international public finance and private capital flows remain essential, they are not enough to meet the scale of investment needs, particularly in a context of fiscal constraints, rising debt vulnerabilities, drop of international public aid and heightened exposure to global shocks and tensions.

Against this backdrop, domestic resource mobilisation (DRM) is increasingly recognised as a cornerstone of long-term development strategies, as highlighted in the Compromiso de Sevilla reached at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4). El Compromiso also calls for renewed attention to domestic resources, including notably long-term savings, and emphasises the role of public institutions and international partners in building the conditions needed to channel these resources into productive, long-term and inclusive investments.

Recent work by the Africa-Europe Foundation underscores the importance of strong domestic financial ecosystems and robust public institutions like Caisse des Dépôts (CDC) to channel these resources into inclusive, climate-aligned investments. In this context, the EU’s Global Gateway, supported by the Multi-annual Financial Framework, aligns external investment priorities with broader efforts to strengthen sustainable infrastructure and governance frameworks in Africa.

The Caisse des Dépôts (CDC) - the world’s oldest public development bank founded in France in 1816 and later expanded to Africa - plays a crucial role in mobilising domestic savings for long-term investments in infrastructure, SMEs, housing, and local development. With financing needs for the SDGs in Sub-Saharan Africa estimated at $200 billion annually, traditional external sources fall short - yet studies show 70-90% of these needs could be met through domestic resources and private savings, which remain underutilised.

Key objectives of the Roundtable

By convening stakeholders from across the Africa Europe partnership, this roundtable aims to tackle the following question: With development finance institutions at the core of the solution, how can we sustainably finance development and transitions by strengthening domestic resource mobilisation?

This roundtable aims to:

  • Position domestic resource mobilisation - both fiscal and private - as a strategic pillar of development financing and economic transitions.
  • Explore how Europe – through the centrale role of Caisse des dépôts and underpinned by the Global Gateway strategy and MFF - can support African partners in building robust institutions and financial instruments that strengthen domestic financing capacity.
  • Generate Africa-Europe policy insights that can inform wider global discussions, including within the G7, on domestic resource mobilisation, financial integrity and institutional reform.