By Rukayat Moisemhe
The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has tasked African governments to build robust database systems useful for effective governance to accelerate the continent’s economic development.
Its President, Mr Samaila Zubairu, made the call on Tuesday at the 2026 Pan-African Leadership Series held at the Lagos Business School (LBS) in Lagos.
Zubairu cited countries like India and the United Arab Emirates that had transformed public administration by building integrated digital identity and data systems that support efficient service delivery.
He said Africa’s ability to harness emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and digital finance would depend largely on the quality and accessibility of its data.
The AFC president urged governments, regulators and industries to invest in developing comprehensive databases and deploy them to improve governance and public service delivery.
He added that stronger data infrastructure would improve decision-making, expand financial inclusion and create new business opportunities across the continent.
“Data is really the most prized possession going forward. The opportunities in AI, blockchain, crypto and tokenisation are all built around data.
“We need to encourage governments to build databases and use them for governance.
“We also need industries to develop their own databases and actively contribute to strengthening national data ecosystems,” he said.
Zubairu also reiterated the need for Africa to focus on deliberate execution of development priorities, stressing that the continent’s prosperity would depend on intentional actions rather than aspirations.
He added that sustained investments in infrastructure, industrialisation and digital ecosystems remained essential to unlocking Africa’s economic potential and creating long-term prosperity.
He also called on African countries to accelerate industrialisation by processing their natural resources locally instead of exporting raw materials.
According to him, the continent’s economic future depends on deliberate value addition and infrastructure development.
Zubairu said Africa must move beyond aspirations to intentional execution, saying, “It is the Africa we build, not the Africa we hope for, that our children will inherit.”
He said AFC was working with governments to develop infrastructure projects that would unlock industrial growth, including transport corridors, industrial parks and regional value chains.
The AFC president cited the Lobito Corridor linking Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia as an example of projects designed to diversify supply chains and stimulate industrial development across Africa.
Also, the Dean, LBS, Prof. Olayinka David-West, said the leadership series was designed to inspire African chief executives to think beyond national markets and build businesses with continental impact.
She stated that the programme sought to nurture a network of Pan-African business champions capable of driving Africa’s economic transformation through collaboration and execution.
David-West revealed that the institution expanded its mission beyond Nigeria about a decade ago to cultivate an African mindset among business leaders.
“Lagos Business School’s mission extended beyond Nigeria about 10 years ago.
“The leadership series is bringing in the mindset and the convictions of how we start to think more African, rather than within our own country,” she said.
A director at LBS, Mr Patrick Akinwuntan, said leadership was critical to transforming business ambition into successful continental expansion.
Akinwuntan is the Academic Director of the Global Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Programme.
According to him, leadership translates vision into execution by mobilising resources, people, financial resources, markets, collaborations and stakeholder integration.
Akinwuntan said the purpose of the programme was to build an Africa focus among successful CEOs and have a network that facilitated execution.
He revealed that the programme was already yielding results, noting that two Nigerian companies from the previous cohort had established subsidiaries in Kenya within one year.
“Our focus is to bring CEOs across Africa, who have been successful as country CEOs to see the opportunity of Africa and create an enabling environment for effective execution.
‘’This is so that in 10 years we begin to see a community of Pan-African business champions facilitated by the Global CEO Africa Programme of Lagos Business School,” Akinwuntan said.
AFC is a Pan-African multilateral development financial institution established in 2007 by sovereign African states.
The aim is to provide pragmatic solutions to Africa’s infrastructure deficit and challenging operating environment. (NAN)
Edited by Esenvosa Izah