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Dakar to Host Pioneering Forum on Rethinking West Africa’s Financial Tools

West Africa’s Financial Renaissance Takes Center Stage

The inaugural Structured Finance Africa Forum (SFA) will convene in Dakar on September 25, 2025, marking a watershed moment for Africa’s financial landscape. Announced during a virtual press conference on July 31, this high-level gathering will explore “Financial Innovations and Structural Transformation of African Economies: Securitization, Sustainable Financing, and Sovereignty”—a theme reflecting the continent’s urgent need for financial paradigm shifts.

Bridging the $130 Billion Financing Gap

Organized by financial powerhouses Invictus Capital & Finance, KF Securitization, and Development Finance Advisory (DFA), the forum addresses West Africa’s chronic infrastructure financing deficit—currently exceeding $108 billion annually against growing needs surpassing $130 billion. As traditional financing mechanisms reach their limits, the event positions itself as a crucible for innovative financial instruments tailored to Africa’s unique realities.

“We’re not just discussing technical solutions, but fundamentally transforming how Africans engage with financial partners,” emphasized Moustapha Faye, Director General of KF Securitization. His sentiment echoes across the organizing consortium, with Isaac Mbaye of Invictus Capital advocating for “more ambitious, inclusive financial engineering rooted in regional realities.”

Five Pillars of Financial Transformation

The forum’s agenda crystallizes around five transformative themes:

1. African Securitization Market: Untapped Potential

Experts will assess current securitization landscapes while exploring innovative approaches to mobilize domestic savings—a critical yet underutilized resource.

2. Regulatory Frameworks: Building Investor Confidence

Taxation policies, credit ratings, and legal stability take center stage as foundational elements for attracting sustainable investment.

3. Intra-African Trade Finance Revolution

Discussions will focus on securing strategic imports and developing regional value chains to boost cross-border commerce.

4. Impact Infrastructure Financing

The forum will pioneer hybrid financing models blending public and private resources for socially/environmentally transformative projects.

5. SME Empowerment Through Financial Innovation

Synergies between fintech, microfinance, and structured financial tools will be explored as catalysts for small business growth.

A Who’s Who of African Finance

The speaker roster reads like a directory of Africa’s financial vanguard:

• Félix Edoh Kossi Amenounve – BRVM Regional Securities Exchange
• Christopher Chijiutomi – British International Investment (Africa)
• Oulimata Ndiaye Diassé – UMOA Titres
• Anouar Hassoune – GCR Ratings
• Ghislaine Samaké – Ecobank Guinea Bissau

Beyond Dialogue: Crafting a New Financial Ecosystem

As Nafissatou Diagne of DFA notes, “Financing structural transformation transcends financial instruments—it demands synchronized action among policymakers, investors, and economic operators.” The forum aims to birth an indigenous African financial ecosystem where innovation, inclusion, and sovereignty converge to drive sustainable economic metamorphosis.

With West Africa’s development trajectory hanging in the balance, the Dakar forum may well be remembered as the moment the continent took definitive control of its financial destiny.

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