France Announces €23bn Investment Package at Africa Summit in Nairobi

French President Emmanuel Macron announced 23 billion euros ($27bn) in investments for Africa on 11 May 2026 at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, the first such French event hosted in an English-speaking country on the continent. 5bn) comes from African companies.

The commitments target energy transition, agriculture and artificial intelligence projects and are projected to create 250,000 jobs across France and Africa.

CMA CGM, the French shipping group, separately committed 700 million euros ($820m) to modernise a terminal at Kenya’s port of Mombasa. Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote and executives from TotalEnergies and Orange attended the summit, which drew heads of state and leaders from more than 30 African nations.

” “We are not simply here to come and invest on the African continent alongside you – we need great African business leaders to come and invest in France,” Macron said.

Macron argued the continent needs investment to strengthen its sovereignty rather than dependence on development aid, while acknowledging France’s own financial constraints. The summit opened with a youth forum titled “Africa Forward: Creation in Motion” hosted at the University of Nairobi. Artists and young entrepreneurs spoke on culture and innovation until Macron interrupted the proceedings.

He rose from his seat, walked toward the stage and told the audience to be quiet. “Excuse me, everybody. Hey, hey, hey. I’m sorry, guys. But it’s impossible to speak about culture, to have people like that super inspired, coming here, making a speech with such a noise.

So this is a total lack of respect,” Macron said. He continued: “I suggest if you want to have bilateral or speak about somebody else, I mean something else, you have bilateral rooms, or you go outside. ” Kenyan President William Ruto welcomed the shift in approach.

“We should no longer think in terms of aid and loans, but rather in terms of investment and what Africa has to offer,” Ruto said. One month before the summit, about 800 French soldiers arrived in Kenya aboard a navy ship, underscoring growing military cooperation even as France has withdrawn forces from several Sahel nations.

The French parliament passed a law last week that paves the way for the return of African cultural artefacts looted during the colonial era.

Macron told The Africa Report ahead of the summit that colonialism could no longer be blamed for all of Africa’s challenges. “We must not exonerate from all responsibility the seven decades that followed independence,” he said. ” The two-day gathering reflects France’s effort to recalibrate ties with African countries amid competition from other global powers and shifting regional alliances.

Macron positioned Europe as a reliable partner while emphasising mutual investment flows rather than traditional aid models.