GABI shifts digital and health action pathways into higher gear
The Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI) has intensified efforts to advance its Digital and Health Action Pathways, aimed at identifying and implementing solutions to challenges slowing Africa’s economic progress.
Meeting on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum 2026 in Kigali on 15 May, the GABI Solutions Lab brought together senior African business leaders to develop practical plans intended to overcome barriers to growth and investment.
“Africa does not face a shortage of ideas, but a significant gap in execution and the financing required to scale solutions,” said Sanda Ojiambo. “The GABI Solutions Lab was a focused working session where public and private sector leaders co-developed practical solutions, structured bankable partnerships, and unlocked viable financing pathways that can be advanced immediately,” she said.
The Digital Transformation and Health Action Pathways were launched during the Unstoppable Africa summit in September 2025 by a coalition of African and international leaders seeking to move development initiatives from policy discussions to implementation.
The Kigali meeting focused on linking digital technology and healthcare systems as a test case for attracting private investment into public-interest infrastructure projects.
Accelerating investment
Discussions centred on accelerating investment in digital public infrastructure, connectivity, skills development and governance systems to support the adoption of artificial intelligence across Africa.
Participants also examined ways to shorten the implementation timeline for proven infrastructure technologies and expand financing models for sovereign digital infrastructure projects across multiple African markets.
Caitlin Burton, chief executive of Zipline Africa, said Africa needed to move beyond pilot projects and focus on scaling technologies that have already proved effective.
“Across much of Africa, adoption is still moving at the pace of traditional aid cycles and public sector implementation timelines rather than the speed of modern technology deployment,” she said.
“We need financing models, incentives, accountability mechanisms and partnerships that can collapse the adoption timeline for proven infrastructure from decades to years.”
Kate Kallot, founder and chief executive of Kenya-based data infrastructure company Amini, highlighted the importance of sovereign AI infrastructure and locally relevant digital tools.
“Many developers and builders across the continent lack the tools or access required to build solutions that reflect local realities,” she said.
Financing models
“The challenge now is how to deploy financing models for sovereign digital infrastructure at scale across multiple markets in a way that delivers real capability into the hands of governments and citizens within the next 12 months.”
Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s minister of communications and digital economy, said Africa’s ability to benefit from artificial intelligence would depend on investment in connectivity, skills and governance systems.
“The real challenge is not whether Africa will adopt AI, but whether we have built the absorptive capacity required to use it to transform our economies and key sectors,” he said.
Representatives from organisations including the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Afreximbank, Ecobank, McKinsey & Company, Philip Morris International, mPedigree, ServiceNow, Safaricom and the United Nations also attended the discussions.
Now in its fifth year, GABI describes itself as a platform bringing together business leaders, policymakers and investors to support Africa’s economic growth through partnerships between governments and the private sector.
Its flagship Unstoppable Africa summit is scheduled to take place in New York City on 20 and 21 September. - Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GABI.
