The Djibouti Forum 2025 – an unqualified success

Under the theme “Unlocking Opportunities for Regional and Global Growth”, the Djibouti Forum 2025 hosted over 50 speakers and more than 150 international guests from 51 countries. This included major institutional investors overseeing more than $2.6 trillion in cumulative assets, as well as the international media. We are pleased to present highlights from the Forum.

Opening addresses

In his address at the opening ceremony of the 2nd Djibouti Forum, Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed emphasized the political stability of the country, saying it had established credentials as a reliable partner in promoting diplomacy, peace and security in a region long steeped in crisis.

“Today, there’s no denying that we live in a rapidly changing world, where yesterday’s certainties are no longer guaranteed, and where many countries are turning in on themselves.

“In Djibouti, we are proud of our stability and our ability to adapt to change.

“We are aware of the imperative of greater autonomy for the African continent. Djibouti’s chairmanship of the African Union Commission would undoubtedly bring a new dynamic to the continent. 

“In today’s fractured world, where multilateralism is weakened and many countries are turning in on themselves, we Africans must become more self-reliant. 

“This does not mean isolation. It means building internal resilience through regional cooperation, through initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and through strategic partnerships based on equity and common interest,” he remarked.

“This forum is not just an opportunity to showcase our country. It’s a platform to think boldly about Africa’s future and the partnerships we need to forge to make it happen.”

Dr Slim Feriani, CEO, Sovereign Wealth Fund of Djibouti: “If we are here, it’s thanks to the vision of President Alhaji Ismail Omar Guelleh, a remarkable man, a visionary leader, a strategist of integrity and generosity – and, dare we say it, a type of leadership that the world sorely needs today. 

 “Today we are faced with an inescapable reality. The world is changing. At a time when the US is announcing an almost total dismantling of its foreign aid and its European counterparts are reallocating funds to overseas development, it’s time to react. 

“This is why the Fonds Souverain de Djibouti is such an important instrument. We want to be an essential tool for directing investment towards the productive sectors of our continental economy, and we already are.

“We are here because we believe in the transformation of our continent. We are here to build lasting partnerships and to move forward together by catalysing investment.

“Djibouti’s growth prospects are in the order of 7% per annum for the next three years. We know that, with the right partners and the right investments, we can – and I say this with conviction but humility – aim for what others call magical growth: 10%.

“Our ports and logistics are world-class. And we have the structures in place to create a manufacturing and digital hub and take advantage of our strategic location in the middle of 400 million young consumers. The similarities I see, from an investor’s point of view, with other high-growth emerging markets of the past, such as Malaysia, Vietnam and Mexico, are obvious.”

Dr Acha Leke, Senior Partner and Chairman of McKinsey & Company Africa, said there are encouraging signs of an early recovery led by smaller African countries, citing the examples of Cabo Verde, Rwanda, and Libya, each of which registered a compounded annual growth rate of 9% in GDP from 2020 to 2023.

That said, he cautioned that some countries are yet to emerge from the doldrums. “The truth remains that there is no ‘one Africa’. Disparities in economic growth persist as countries experience divergent development paths,” he said.

“There is still a long way to go from a broader pan-African perspective, including the urgent need for our large economic engines to start humming again,” he said, citing South Africa, Nigeria and Morocco.

He acknowledged that shifts in the global order, driven by a reduction in Western aid and the tariff wars introduced by the US, pose significant risks to Africa. 

Nevertheless, he argued that the negative impacts of these developments will largely be felt in the short term, and that the situation “provides an opportunity for Africa to own and control its development”. Leke highlighted the resilience of Africa’s private sector as a major strength. “Despite all its challenges, the private sector is resilient. Africa is home to about 345 African business champions worth more than $1 billion, with cumulative revenues of around $1 trillion.” 

Strategic partnerships

A common thread throughout the discussions at the Djibouti Forum was the need for greater strategic partnerships and collaborations to unlock investment potential.

Dr Slim Feriani said: “The magic word is partnership. That is the one that unites us.”

Lionel Zinsou, former Prime Minister of Benin and co-founder of SouthBridge, said “There is a new important partner in blended finance, which is the partnership of the public and private sectors with philanthropy. 

“They are prepared to de-risk investments and to supply grants, which helps lower the costs and interest rates for projects,” he said. 

Solomon Quaynor, AfDB VP for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation, said, “With limited fiscal space, we are seeing greater pressure and urgency to do public-private partnerships but it will take time. African sovereign wealth funds are the next generation of risk mitigation tools for public private partnerships. They are commercially run, well governed, understand the private sector and understand government strategic priorities.”

George Olaka, Chief Financial Officer, ARISE IIP and ARISE IS, said: “The Trump tariffs will be a problem for us in the short term, but it is in the resilience we bring that we will circumvent some of the impacts of this tariff war.” 

Hassan Jaber, CEO, AXIAN Telecom, said that the private sector brings the knowhow and the capital and can bring credible partners in, and the government must focus on putting in place the right guidelines. 

Growth of Africa’s digital economy

Djibouti is poised to become a digital hub linking Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, with 10 undersea cables running through its territory – more than any other country in sub-Saharan Africa.

In the Digital Transformation of Africa panel discussion, speakers highlighted the country’s competitive advantage in the sector and the significant opportunity this presents for transforming the economy of the nation.

Mariam Hamadou Ali, Djibouti’s Minister Delegate for the Digital Economy and Innovation, said the country has a comparative advantage due to major investments in network infrastructure, including the undersea cables. 

The country has also signed partnerships with international companies such as PAIX Data Centres to build carrier-neutral data centres. 

Ali said that with the enabling infrastructure now in place, Djibouti was currently focused on attracting increased private investment to the digital economy. “We have identified investment needs in the digital economy totalling $850m and expect the private sector to provide up to 70% of this investment,” she said.

Yann Jaffre, Associate Director, Tactics, said, “Djibouti’s investments in digital infrastructure, including submarine cables and data centres, have the potential to transform the nation into a digital connectivity hub, comparable to Marseille in France.” 

Prince Moukoumbouka, CEO Groupe Cegelem, welcomed Djibouti’s move to upskill the youth “With the road map that has been developed, Djibouti was the best place for us to come to in Africa,” he said. “The potential that we see in Djibouti’s youth is undeniable. They have an appetite for and competence in the digital economy.” 

Lacina Kone, Director General and CEO of Smart Africa, argued that “the cost of data in Africa remains excessively high, with prices ranging from a low of 38 US cents per gigabyte in Malawi to a staggering $43 per gigabyte in Zimbabwe. These inflated charges are largely due to excessive taxes, and it’s imperative for governments to reassess this situation.” 

Michelle Chivunga, founder and CEO of Global Policy House, said before Africa can seize the opportunity presented by emerging technologies such as blockchain or AI, the public sector must prioritise digitisation of its own processes. 

“Most of the data sitting in governments is not digitised,” she observed. “We need to build our ‘data capital’ to be competitive.”

Aboubakar Haman, Group Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at AXIAN Telecom, said “Quality of service must remain a priority, even as we strive to expand coverage. We need to create an unforgettable client experience.” 

Yonas Maru, Managing Director Bandwidth and Cloud Services (BCS) Group, “We first became a customer of Djibouti Telecom in 2012. We are now working with them on a low latency link cutting through Ethiopia to Nairobi in Kenya via high voltage electricity lines.” 

Spotlighting Africa’s Energy 

Djibouti currently generates approximately 80% of its energy from renewable sources, thanks mainly to its interconnection with Ethiopia and the launch of a 60 MW wind farm in 2023. It aims to fully transition to 100% renewable energy, reduce dependency on external sources, and enhance its industrial appeal, according to Yonis Ali Guedi, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources during a panel discussion on the energy mix in Africa.

He pointed to the ongoing development of the Grand Bara solar power project, which features a 25 MW power plant complemented by 10 MW of battery storage. “

The country’s location on the Great Rift Valley offers a unique opportunity to develop geothermal energy – a point that fellow panellist Phil Harms, President 4th Resource Group, concurred: “Geothermal is primarily driven by geology. There is a huge opportunity in East Africa because it sits at the junction of three tectonic plates spreading apart and releasing heat from the core of the earth,” Harms said. “Djibouti exists at the triple junction of these tectonic plates, making it ideal for geothermal energy.”

Helen Robinson, Global R&D manager at the International Geothermal Association, noted that geothermal’s ability to provide a stable baseload made it ideal for sustainable industrialisation. 

She added that in nations where geothermal resources have been developed, the sector has demonstrated greater effectiveness in job creation during the development process compared to other energy sources.

Lindsay Nagle, Founder and CEO of Infinitum Energy, argued that by harnessing waste as a resource, communities can reduce landfill use, lower carbon emissions, and transition towards a circular economy.

Ryan Collyer, CEO of Rosatom Central and Southern Africa, noted that the Russian state-owned nuclear corporation was actively scouting for opportunities in Africa where the potential for nuclear power was still largely untapped. “When we evaluate a country to partner with, we look at what is available and advocate for using what they have,” he said. 

Aminu Umar-Sadiq, Managing Director and CEO of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), noted that many projects failed to reach financial close due to how they were structured in the early project preparation phase. “We’re focused on project preparation to ensure that we have bankable projects in the renewable energy sector with the ability to scale,” he said. 

“We’re exploring blended finance and have provided a significant amount of first-loss funding that will catalyse conservative capital,” he said. 

Investor perspectives

Global investors were in evidence throughout the Djibouti Forum. 

Ahmed Osman Ali, Central Bank Governor, Djibouti, said the country was focusing on what financial instruments were needed to attract people to invest in Djibouti and draw capital 

The country has 13 banks and banking reform efforts are focused on supporting the investment drive, particularly modernising financial infrastructure through digitisation and development of financial tools. There is also a shift to Islamic banking by some institutions.

Bahruz Bahramov, Deputy CEO, State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan, said his country’s $636bn fund was mostly active in private equity and real estate. Africa had come onto its radar. “Our first investment in Africa was through the IFC, mostly in the financial industry and communications. As a long-term investment, we see the region is evolving and we need to tap in and invest more. We are here to learn.”

Aminu Umar-Sadiq, MD and CEO of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, said NSIA’s main source of funding is surplus income generated from the sale of Nigeria’s crude oil, with an initial allocation of $1bn. 

Rene Awambeng, founder and Managing Partner, Premier Invest, shared his positive experience of investing in Djibouti.  “Investors are concerned about currency stability in Africa but if there is a place to avoid this risk it is Djibouti,” he said, adding that the political and economic stability is also a drawcard. 

“It is very cheap, there are guaranteed investment returns and freedom of financial movement.” 

New trade corridors

In a panel discussion on new trade corridors, Paulo Gomes, founder of Orango Investment Corporation and co-founder of New Capital African Partners, said “In the current environment, we have to change our mind-set to be open to the world, find solutions to the problems and fix them. But in doing so we also have to point to some of our own problems and our attitudes.”

He suggested that trade corridors and special economic zones, are trying to fix a problem of fragmentation, “but the corridors give us a way to accelerate regional integration and find a way to move goods and for capital to grow.”

Cheick-Oumar Sylla, Director for North Africa and Horn of Africa, IFC, concurred. “Talking about the Lobito Corridor, it is important that you don’t only focus on critical minerals. You need to look at bigger opportunities and what makes the project sustainable.”

Rural development was raised as key underpinning of development but is not always recognised as such. Dr Ashraf Iqbal, Chairman of Waafi Bank in Malaysia, reminded delegates that at the time Ghana gained its independence in 1957, its economy was 20 times the size of the Malaysia’s. “Why are the outcomes so different many years later?” he asked.

 “We solved the issues in rural areas before focusing on urban spaces. It made a difference as it stopped urban migration,” he said. 

Africa’s competitiveness is affected by fragmentation of efforts, said Samba Bathily, CEO of ADS Group. “If we make sure that every country plays to its competitive advantage, we could do something. The continent could be more competitive.”

Djibouti’s ports and logistics

Abdi Adawe Sigad, CEO, Societé de Gestion du Terminal a Conteneurs de Doraleh, said investment is needed in infrastructure along the Djibouti-Ethiopia corridor to bring down the costs of trade.

Only 10% of cargo coming into ports in Djibouti are for the country itself, with 90% destined for Ethiopia. Investment in road infrastructure would also enable greater regional penetration, extending trade from Djibouti port to other countries such as South Sudan and Uganda. 

Djibouti remains one of the best performing ports in Africa, with volume growth doubling in the past few years. It is the only port in East Africa that can operate any size of container vessel. The country’s Ship Repair Yard is the only facility of its kind in the region and the country has six different ports and terminals, enhancing its competitiveness.

Jason Reynard, Regional Managing Director of Africa Global Logistics, said “Ports are the gateways to Africa and efficiency is very important but if the rest of the infrastructure is not as efficient, we are just moving the problem up the corridor.”

He said global trends are changing with global trade of about €8 billion set to double. The changing patterns mean consumers and suppliers are demanding more globalisation of logistics. 

“The complexity of logistics is changing as well; new requirements mean having a position on the ocean is not the end of logistics; we need a presence on the land as well.”

Reda Moukhli, CEO of Marsa Maroc International Logistics, spoke about the great strides Morocco has made with its Tanger-Med port. Morocco manages 25 terminals across 11 ports, including Africa’s biggest port, Tanger-Med, which was established in the early 2000s as a greenfield project. 

He said the port sector is a huge growth opportunity for Djibouti, given its strategic location. “It is unique. It is very important to make it a hub and you now have to scale on this hub and develop other things to benefit from regional integration.”

Mbahupu Tjivikua, CEO of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group, said his company works with immigration and customs, port users, freight forwarders, shipping lines, and transport authorities to build competitiveness and address challenges. 

He noted that customs officials and processes need change. “You find that customs officials have been doing things the same way for 25 years and have become used to it and there is no business process engineering happening,”

Tourism: where the continents connect

Tourism is not just about natural attractions; it is about resource mapping and planning, about strong branding and marketing and about investment in infrastructure and services. These were some of the ideas raised at a session on Urban Development, Tourism & Hospitality,

Djibouti’s Minister of City, Urban Planning and Housing, Amina Abdi Aden, said her team had visited Singapore to see what could be borrowed from the city-state’s model for Djibouti’s 10-year development master plan. 

This includes making it more competitive, more resilient to climate change and other challenges and more inclusive. 

Tourism products are important, she said, and Djibouti is not short of natural attractions such as its coastal areas, lakes and islands but also historical sites and a range of hotels in the capital city itself. Land belongs to the state and can be made available to the private sector for development.

Lensa (Aida) Mekonnen, former State Minister to Ethiopian Ministry of Tourism and former CEO of FDRE Land Bank and Development Corporation, said: “In Africa, we think of tourism as leisure and we don’t consider it to be a key economic pillar, which has affected how we utilise the sector.”

She offered advice to Djibouti based on her experience of selling Ethiopia’s tourism sector. “You need to really know and map your resources. This helps you to know your competitive advantage and it helps you to turn your resources into products in your masterplan.”

Thierno-Habib Hann, CEO and Managing Director of Shelter Afrique said the continent’s cities tend to be characterised by slums due to poor development planning, influx of people and lack of innovation in urban models. 

“We also need to build back our cities better. It means we must fix our city centres. Land is scarce and infrastructure is not adequate. We need to use better what we already have.”

Finding opportunity in crisis

The ongoing global trade wars, instigated by the US’s protectionist policies, have plunged the world deeper into a state of “perma-crisis”, according to Carlos Lopes, professor at the Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town. 

“After the pandemic we had the war in Ukraine and the inflationary pressures that led to high food prices. Now we have trade wars. 

“However, Africa’s limited fiscal space makes it harder for it to respond,” Lopes explained. “We have exhausted our resilience capacity.”

To be sure, crises are not a novel phenomenon. “The US is using uncertainty as a bargaining mechanism. People don’t know which policies will prevail or which will be reversed. There is a level of unpredictability that is dissimilar to past shocks because the uncertainty is policy-induced.” 

He emphasised that Africa must not despair in these uncertain times but should instead seize the opportunity to build and grow its own continental market.

“The value of our pension fund assets and institutional capital is somewhere in the region of $4 trillion. This is an opportunity for Africa to finance its own development,” he said. 

Dr Samuel Maimbo, a candidate for the presidency of the AfDB, described the pullback in development aid as a “wake up call” for the continent. 

“The conversation I would like to have in Africa is not about the tariffs being imposed by the US. Rather, the conversation should be about the 25%-35% that we impose on each other,” he noted.