From Aid to Action: Africa Took Center Stage at UNGA Sideline Forums in New York

Two major Africa-focused events — Global Africa Forum 2025 (GAF) and GABI 2025: Unstoppable Africa — held during the recent UN General Assembly in New York, showcased a bold shift in Africa’s global posture: from aid dependence to self-driven growth, investment, and innovation.
At GAF 2025, convened by the Africa Prosperity Network, leaders rallied behind a vision of an “Africa Beyond Aid,” driven by economic integration, diaspora engagement, and the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The event emphasized Africa’s strength as a unified, self-reliant market of 1.5 billion people, with diaspora populations contributing to both finance and policy. Key proposals included the “Dollar-a-Day” initiative to tackle the $100 billion annual infrastructure gap and a call to redirect the $90 billion in annual remittances toward productive investment.
Meanwhile, GABI 2025, hosted by the UN Global Compact and the African Union, positioned Africa as an innovation hub. Highlights included the launch of StriveAI, a continent-wide artificial intelligence factory network, and Meta’s upcoming investment in Africa’s digital infrastructure. New financial partnerships were unveiled, including the Africa Savings for Growth initiative, aiming to unlock $1.17 trillion in local institutional savings for development. With concrete deals spanning AI, healthcare, digital transformation, and the creative industries, both forums sent a clear message: Africa is not waiting to be invited to the global table — it’s building its own.