The State of Africa-Europe 2025 Report - Financing Our Future
- The Africa-Europe Foundation
A blueprint for implementation, scale and accountability ahead of the AU-EU Summit
The Africa-Europe Foundation (AEF) calls for a new era in the relationship between Africa and Europe, one defined not by aid but by equitable investment, not by declarations but by measurable delivery. Produced by AEF together with the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and more than 50 leading African and European research institutions, ‘The State of Africa-Europe 2025 - Financing Our Future’ report outlines a pragmatic agenda for a partnership rooted in fairness, shared accountability and real outcomes.
Addis Ababa / Brussels, 18 November 2025 - On the eve of the 7ᵗʰ African Union–European Union Summit in Luanda, the Africa-Europe Foundation (AEF) releases its flagship report for 2025, calling for a fundamental reset of how the two continents finance their future together. Africa and Europe represent 1.8 billion citizens and nearly 30% of UN member states, a collective weight capable of shaping global agendas, yet their financial cooperation remains under leveraged.
The Foundation urges both sides to move beyond short-term aid cycles and build a long-term framework for co-ownership and co-investment, where public and private capital combine to deliver impact at scale. A model which focuses on enhanced processes and smarter money, moving decisively towards value-building and innovative instruments that recognize no trade-off between climate ambition and human development.
The report is the most comprehensive assessment of its kind on Africa-Europe relations – with finance as the ‘fil rouge’ that cuts across all thematic chapters, from health to transition minerals, ocean governance to creative industries. It comes at a symbolic moment when both Unions are expected to renew their political partnership 25 years since its inception. The upcoming 7th AU–EU Summit in Angola (24-25 November) must demonstrate a pivot from intent to implementation - where the partnership’s vision becomes a delivery agenda.
“If Africa and Europe want to matter together, they must act together, step up at this defining moment of geopolitical change, and demonstrate real gains for the societies of both continents.”
Commenting on the Summit, Paul Walton, Executive Director of the Africa-Europe Foundation: “If Africa and Europe want to matter together, they must act together, step up at this defining moment of geopolitical change, and demonstrate real gains for the societies of both continents. The State of Africa-Europe report, Financing our Future, is a call to focus on delivery, to build the tools, the trust and the tempo needed for measurable change - between Summits, not between generations.”
The report warns that Africa continues to lose almost $90bn every year through illicit financial flows, while critical sectors remain underfunded. It calls for better mobilisation of domestic resources and the reform of international financial systems so that economies can invest on their own terms and become more resilient. This includes fully leveraging existing instruments such as sovereign wealth and pension funds, which hold together over $330bn in assets, and represent the largest source of investable capital in Africa.
Health is presented as a defining test of this new partnership model. The report points to progress where vaccine production partnerships are building regional resilience, and describes additional joint investment in research and workforce capacity as an investment in mutual security and preparedness. All are vital to create lasting value and prevent future pandemics, benefiting Africa and Europe’s aspirations for strategic autonomy.
“Our Report provides an operational blueprint for a new financial compact that moves decisively beyond aid towards co-creation, risk-sharing, value-building and trading resources.”
The same logic applies to energy and industrial partnerships. Africa receives less than 3% of global renewable energy investment, despite holding more than 60% of the world’s best solar potential. Joint initiatives show how shared infrastructure can accelerate Africa’s industrialisation while supporting Europe’s climate transition and energy diversification. Together, Africa and Europe can help build the Global Green Economy, with the scaling of the Africa-Europe Green Energy Initiative as one of the most illustrative positive shifts in reconciling the climate-development nexus.
The report also underscores the untapped potential of the blue economy, describing oceans as a shared frontier for prosperity. Leveraging the ‘Africa-Europe Ocean Roadmap’ as an operational blueprint for joint action on ocean governance, capacity sharing, finance and investment can support a sustainable ocean economy that benefits both continents.
Amid rising isolationism and a strained multilateral system, the report calls on Africa and Europe to step forward together as a stabilising force and an open cultural-economic artery - a partnership that strengthens international cooperation, drives long-term investment, and delivers a shared response to shared challenges. Recent AU–EU cooperation and joint leadership on the Pact for the Future, the Pandemic Agreement, and Ocean Governance offer valuable lessons and momentum to work hand in hand on advancing global governance reforms and creating a shared long-term vision for the future of the multilateral order.
“The Africa-Europe Foundation concludes that the time has come for the partnership to move from dialogue to demonstrable results. It calls for a permanent AU-EU think-tank mechanism to support progress and facilitate implementation between Summits.”
Commenting on the report, Mo Ibrahim, Co-Founder of the Africa-Europe Foundation and Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, said : “Our Report provides an operational blueprint for a new financial compact that moves decisively beyond aid towards co-creation, risk-sharing, value-building and trading resources. This means focusing on smarter money, not only more money, adapting financial tools, streamlining funding processes and assessing progress beyond the announcement of financial commitments and rather at impact level and direct benefit for our societies."
Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, added: “At a time of global shifts, Africa and Europe need to wake up and realise our solidarity is needed more than ever to deliver results for our communities. To do that we must look beyond short-term gains at long-term transformational change and transform commitments into action. This is the DNA of our partnership with the Africa-Europe Foundation and provides the focus for our follow-up to the 7th AU-EU Summit »
- Download The State of Africa-Europe 2025: Financing Our Future here.