NAIROBI, May 12 – Investment commitments totaling €23 billion ($27 billion) were secured during the France-Africa Summit in Nairobi, according to President Emmanuel Macron, as France intensifies efforts to strengthen commercial and investment ties across the continent.
Speaking at the Africa Forward Summit on Tuesday, Macron said the total included €14 billion from French companies and €9 billion from African entrepreneurs and investors.
The summit brought together more than 30 African heads of state alongside approximately 7,000 delegates, including executives from major French and African corporations, investors and policymakers.
Macron described the commitments as a significant milestone in France’s evolving economic engagement with Africa.
“This is a big first,” he said during the event in Nairobi.
The French president also emphasized that the partnership model being pursued was intended to move beyond traditional top-down approaches to development and investment relations.
“Let’s take a leap together, this is not a top-down agenda from Africa to Europe,” Macron said. “It’s an equal partnership.”
The summit comes as global powers including France, China, the United States and Gulf states intensify competition for influence and investment opportunities across African economies, particularly in infrastructure, energy, technology, manufacturing and critical minerals.
France has been seeking to reposition its relationship with African nations in recent years, placing greater emphasis on private-sector partnerships, entrepreneurship and long-term investment collaboration amid shifting geopolitical dynamics on the continent.
