Country Platforms: The New Frontier for Development Finance in a Post-Aid Landscape

With foreign aid dwindling, country platforms are emerging as a transformative tool for global development finance, especially in Africa. These government-led vehicles align national priorities with climate goals and investment opportunities. Unlike donor-driven projects, which are usually fragmented, country platforms offer targeted solutions. Already in motion across countries like South Africa, Egypt, and Senegal, country platforms show promise in mobilizing climate finance, fostering structural reforms, and attracting private capital. A popular example is Mission 300, a joint project by the World Bank, African Development Bank, and other partners, which leverages national-scale units to achieve the initiative’s goal of electrifying Africa. With strong leadership, data-driven planning, and institutional capacity achieved through smart investment and debt management, country platforms could finally match Africa’s urgent development needs with global climate finance flows.

The Conversation