Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Canada Investment Summit signalled that the country is rethinking its economic future. Bringing together leading global investors, Canadian CEOs and public-sector representatives, the September 2026 summit was designed to mobilize long-term capital into Canadian infrastructure, energy, technology, critical minerals and other strategic sectors. The federal government has set a goal of catalyzing $1 trillion in total investment in Canada over the next five years.
That is an ambitious response to a changing global economy. But as Canada opens its doors to new investment and looks to diversify its economic relationships, it should ask a second question: With whom do we want to build partnerships for the future?
Africa should be high on that list.
Canada already has substantial diplomatic, development and commercial relationships across the African continent. Rather than treating these relationships as development policy alone, they should be understood as part of Canada’s economic strategy.
The economic case is becoming harder to ignore. The African Development Bank estimates that the continent’s real GDP grew 4.4 percent in 2025, ahead of global growth, with 22 African countries recording growth above five percent. Most strikingly, the bank's March 2026 macroeconomic outlook found 12 of the world’s 20 fastest-growing economies in 2025 were African. The bank projects continued continental growth in 2026 and 2027.
Africa is a continent of 54 countries with enormous differences in economic structure, governance, income and political conditions, and those growth rates should not obscure the substantial challenges that remain. However, they do highlight that the economic geography of the future is changing.
Canada’s own Africa Strategy recognizes this. Africa is home to the world’s youngest population and is expected to account for one-quarter of the world’s population by 2050. Canada already has a foundation to build on: extensive diplomatic relationships, growing commercial ties and $15.1 billion in merchandise trade with African countries in 2024. The strategy explicitly identifies critical minerals, infrastructure, renewable energy and support for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as opportunities.
The question now is whether Canada is doing enough with that foundation.
From Relationships to Investment Partnerships
Canada has spent decades building development relationships across Africa, and the next stage should be to build reciprocal economic partnerships in which Canadian and African capital, companies, institutions and expertise work together to create value.
FinDev Canada has made Africa a major component of its investment portfolio, supporting financial institutions, infrastructure and private-sector development. Canada’s Africa Strategy calls for further investment through FinDev Canada, including in renewable energy and infrastructure, while emphasizing blended finance to mobilize private capital.
Canada could, for example, develop dedicated Canada-Africa investment vehicles that combine FinDev Canada, Export Development Canada (EDC), Canadian pension and institutional capital, and African development-finance institutions. Such vehicles could target sectors in which Canadian capabilities and African demand intersect, such as renewable energy, critical minerals processing, agriculture, digital infrastructure, transportation, financial services and climate adaptation.
The African Development Bank’s Africa Investment Forum offers a clear platform. Canadian companies and institutional investors should be systematically connected to bankable African projects through Canadian trade missions and stronger coordination between Global Affairs Canada, EDC, FinDev Canada and Canadian financial institutions.
Canada’s Africa Strategy also calls for a high-level trade mission, an Africa Trade Hub, additional support for implementation of AfCFTA, and further Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (FIPAs). Canada currently has FIPAs in force with eight African countries.
These are not glamorous initiatives, but predictable investment rules, project preparation, export finance and reliable market intelligence are the infrastructure that turns political relationships into commercial ones.
Investment Should Go Both Ways
The Canada Investment Summit was about bringing global capital to Canada, and African capital should be part of that conversation, too.
African banks, investors, infrastructure funds, technology companies and major corporations are increasingly significant sources of capital. LemFi, the Africa-focused fintech founded by Nigerian entrepreneurs, is one example of the growing potential for African companies to build businesses and investment relationships in Canada, having established Canadian operations to facilitate cross-border financial services. Canada’s investment strategy should not treat Africa solely as a destination but also identify opportunities for African investors to participate in Canadian growth.
That could include Canadian infrastructure, energy, mining, technology, food and logistics. It could also mean creating investment platforms that connect African institutional investors with Canadian projects and encouraging Canadian financial institutions to build the relationships needed to facilitate those investments.
Canadian development finance is already working with major African financial organizations, showing that African institutions can themselves be partners in Canadian capital markets rather than simply recipients.
This is where the Investment Summit’s logic could become genuinely transformative: Canada should not simply attract capital from the world but also build an investment network with the world.
Africa’s economic transformation will have enormous consequences for global poverty, inequality, climate adaptation, food and energy security, migration and international security. The African Development Bank has repeatedly emphasized that, despite strong growth in many economies, substantially greater investment is needed to generate sufficient employment and reduce poverty.
Canadian investment that helps build electric grids, digital infrastructure, agricultural productivity, transportation, financial inclusion and climate resilience can generate economic returns while also contributing to broader human security. In the end, the strongest partnerships will be those where African priorities and Canadian interests genuinely overlap.
Canada is rightly asking how it can attract more investment today. However, it should simultaneously be asking where the world’s future markets, consumers, entrepreneurs and economic growth will be tomorrow. The answer will not be found in one continent alone, but Africa will be central to it.
The institutions that need to act already exist: FinDev Canada, EDC, trade and investment agreements, and a growing commercial relationship. What is missing is an ambitious strategy that connects them into a coherent investment ecosystem. The Canada Investment Summit showed that Ottawa is ready to think bigger. Africa should be part of that ambition.
