Tangier, Morocco, 3 April 2026 (ECA) - The fifty-eighth session of the Economic Commission for Africa and the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development closed in Tangier, Morocco, with a strong call for African countries to harness data, innovation and frontier technologies to accelerate structural transformation, create jobs and strengthen economic resilience. The session was held from 28 March to 3 April 2026 under the theme “Growth through innovation: harnessing data and frontier technologies for the economic transformation of Africa”.
Ministers, senior policymakers, experts, representatives of regional and international organizations, and development partners examined how Africa can move from growth to transformation by investing in digital infrastructure, reliable energy, skills, innovation systems and regional markets. The ministerial segment included a high-level policy dialogue, the Adebayo Adedeji Lecture and round-table discussions on the theme of the session.
Closing the conference, participants underscored that innovation must be treated not only as a technological agenda, but as a central pillar of macroeconomic policy, industrialization and long-term development planning. In his statement to the ministerial segment, ECA Executive Secretary Claver Gatete said, “growth without transformation is growth without traction,” adding that Africa’s challenge is to translate innovation into productivity, competitiveness and wealth.
The conference called for accelerated investment in energy, digital and transport infrastructure as a foundation for structural transformation, regional integration and inclusive growth. Member States were urged to accelerate investment in energy, digital and transport infrastructure, including through blended finance mechanisms, and reorient foreign direct investment towards value addition, industrialization and domestic processing of raw materials.
Ministers also emphasized the importance of strengthening domestic resource mobilization, modernizing tax administration, crowding in private capital and diversifying financing channels to reduce reliance on debt-financed development. The Committee of Experts recommended stronger domestic resource mobilization through tax reform, modernized tax administration and private capital mobilization to expand fiscal space for development.
The Conference underscored that Africa must shape, govern and benefit from the digital economy on its own terms. ECA was encouraged to support member States in developing frameworks for frontier technology adoption, artificial intelligence governance, data governance, cybersecurity, inclusive data-driven decision-making and centres of excellence in artificial intelligence and data management.
The conference further highlighted the African Continental Free Trade Area as a key platform for scaling innovation, expanding markets and deepening regional value chains.
Delegates called for sequenced reforms in trade facilitation, infrastructure development and investment frameworks, supported by measurable implementation and monitoring arrangements. They also emphasized the need to ratify and implement the AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade and to adopt cross-border data-sharing frameworks and automated customs systems to facilitate regional trade.
The ministerial segment also featured the launch of the Sustainable Health Financing Initiative,
Participants agreed that innovation must be inclusive and people-centred, with a particular focus on young people, women, entrepreneurs and countries facing special development challenges. The meeting recommended that member States must invest in digital infrastructure and connectivity, harness the blue economy, sustainable tourism and green value chains, and expand opportunities and capacity strengthening for young people.
The conference also reaffirmed the need to align Africa’s transformation agenda with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063 with national development plans, strategies and budgets aligned with the Doha Programme of Action and the Awaza Programme of Action, while ensuring coherence with the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063.
Furthermore, ECA was requested to continue providing demand-driven analytical and technical support to member States in areas including tax policy, debt management, climate finance, digital governance, AfCFTA implementation, value chain development, support to countries emerging from conflict, and economic resilience.
“The moment before us does not call for incremental change; it calls for transformation at scale,” Mr. Gatete said. “The decisions we make will determine whether Africa builds resilient and diversified economies that create decent jobs and compete effectively in the global economy”.
The next phase, ministers agreed, must be implementation. Tangier’s outcome places data, innovation, digital sovereignty, industrialization, regional integration and sustainable financing at the centre of Africa’s economic transformation agenda.
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