Malabo Set to Host Landmark Summit on Africa’s Economic Integration

The city of Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, is poised to host a pivotal gathering of African leaders and global partners on Sunday, July 13, marking a significant step toward accelerating regional integration across the continent.

Under the distinguished patronage of H.E. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the Malabo Leaders’ Breakfast will convene ahead of the 7th African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting. The event is co-organized by the Africa Prosperity Network (APN), Invest Equatorial Guinea, and the AfCFTA Secretariat.

With the theme “Financing and Facilitating the Movement of People, Goods, and Services Across Africa,” the breakfast aims to move from vision to action. It seeks practical solutions to longstanding barriers hindering Africa’s economic integration—particularly free movement across borders.

“This is no longer just about dialogue—it’s about delivery,” said Sidig El Toum, Executive Director of APN. He highlighted new mechanisms such as the Dollar-a-Day Fund, designed to mobilize infrastructure financing from within the continent.

A Fund to Build Africa

A central highlight will be the unveiling of the Integrated Infrastructure Growth Fund for Africa—a citizen-driven initiative initially proposed by H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma. The fund seeks to raise over $20 billion annually by encouraging 50 million Africans to contribute just $1 a day.

The funds will support strategic infrastructure projects aimed at boosting trade, investment, and mobility—from roads and railways to digital networks and air transport systems.

Key Focus Areas of the Malabo Summit:

• Positioning Equatorial Guinea as a regional investment hub in Central Africa.
• Reducing visa restrictions to improve intra-African mobility.
• Operationalizing the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) to lower the cost of air travel across the continent.
• Exploring sustainable, citizen-led crowdfunding models for infrastructure and connectivity.

High-Level Participation

The event will draw Heads of State, African Union Commissioners, Regional Economic Community (REC) leaders, and development finance executives, along with private sector and civil society stakeholders.

For Equatorial Guinea, the summit is a defining moment. The country will officially launch its National Investment Agenda, aimed at economic diversification, deeper regional value chain participation, and enhanced connectivity infrastructure.

A spokesperson from Invest Equatorial Guinea noted, “Hosting this summit is a statement of readiness. We are positioning Equatorial Guinea as a gateway to Central Africa—offering investors access, security, and world-class infrastructure in the AfCFTA era.”

A Turning Point for Africa

As continental leaders gather in Malabo, expectations are high for actionable outcomes. With Africa’s long-standing vision of a single market under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the focus now shifts to concrete steps—particularly around financing, mobility, and inclusive economic growth.

The Malabo Leaders’ Breakfast could mark a turning point in how Africa funds its own future—led by Africans, for