“Around 85 percent of African private-sector transactions are conducted with companies outside the continent,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told delegates at the Alamein Africa Forum. The private sector generates more than 70 percent of Africa’s gross domestic product. Yet companies still trade more with distant markets than with their neighbors.
That gap shaped the three-day forum, held Oct. 2 to 4 in the Mediterranean city of El-Alamein. About 1,500 African business leaders attended, alongside representatives of more than 20 heads of state and government. Egypt’s government, the African Export-Import Bank and the African Union Development Agency organized the inaugural event. Under an African Union mandate, it will now take place every two years.
The Numbers Behind the Ambition
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, chairperson of the African Union Commission, put intra-African trade at $220 billion in 2024, or 14.4 percent of the continent’s trade. It grew 12.4 percent that year after shrinking 5.9 percent the year before. Youssouf called the progress encouraging, but added: “Africa can do much better.”
Egypt’s figures show how uneven the picture can be. Trade between Egypt and the countries covered by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) reached $1.1 billion in the first seven months of 2026, up from $1 billion a year earlier, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). Egyptian exports slipped to $891 million from $901 million, while imports climbed to $167 million from $114 million. The countries covered were Algeria, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa, alongside Egypt.
Investment moved faster. NEPAD countries invested $190.7 million in Egypt in fiscal year 2024/2025, up from $39 million. Egyptian investment in those countries rose to $251 million from $143.3 million. Remittances grew, too. Egyptians working in NEPAD countries sent home $27 million, up from $20.4 million. Workers from those countries in Egypt sent $10.8 million, up from $9.9 million.
Cities, Housing and Who Gets Left Out
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly used a plenary session on cities to focus on people, not just projects. Africa has one of the world’s fastest urbanization rates, he said, and its urban population is projected to double by 2050. Cities, he argued, should function as integrated economic, social and environmental ecosystems, not simply places to live.
Governments can’t close the infrastructure and housing funding gap alone, Madbouly said. He called for partnerships among governments, the private sector and development finance institutions. He urged leaders to direct long-term capital toward sustainable urban infrastructure and affordable housing to prevent informal settlements from expanding. Egypt’s 2025/26 fiscal plan targets 310,000 new housing units, including 285,000 social housing units.
Madbouly also warned that cities unable to manage heatwaves, floods or water scarcity won’t attract investment. He pointed to projects Egyptian firms built abroad, including Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant, the Saka bridge in Uganda and the Winneba-Takoradi road in Ghana.
Finance, Startups and Small Firms
On the sidelines, Egypt’s General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) held talks with agencies, manufacturers and lenders. With Afreximbank, officials discussed faster market access for Egyptian small and medium-sized enterprises in high-growth African markets, as well as more support for early-stage technology startups. They also covered trade finance and export guarantees to streamline cross-border supply chains. Talks with the Trade and Development Bank Group examined financing tools for exporters and non-banking financial companies. Discussions with Italy’s export credit agency SACE set priorities for co-financing infrastructure, the green-energy transition and digital innovation.
Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD, urged leaders to invest more across the continent. She pointed to Africa’s young population and the need to support young Africans as they shape its future. She also called for closer policy coordination among African countries.
Competition and Dispute
Officials estimate Egyptian investments in Africa at around $14 billion, including Tanzania’s $3 billion Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project. Africanews reported that Egypt, long focused on the Middle East and the Mediterranean, is turning increasingly south as China and Gulf powers, particularly the United Arab Emirates, expand their presence on the continent. The summit also came as Cairo seeks wider African support in its dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Cairo says the dam threatens its share of Nile waters and that a binding agreement should govern its operation. Ethiopia says the dam, inaugurated last year, is essential for economic development.
Why This Matters: Africa’s growth story depends on who captures its value. If 85 percent of private-sector deals still flow outside the continent, much of the benefit goes elsewhere. The forum’s focus on trade finance for small firms, startups and affordable housing points to areas where public institutions and development banks can shape outcomes. Market growth alone won’t decide whether young Africans find jobs or informal settlements keep spreading. The Egypt-NEPAD data also show that gains aren’t automatic: Egyptian exports slipped even as total trade rose. And the Nile dispute shows why cooperation on shared resources needs binding rules, not just goodwill. The forum now has a biennial mandate; the test is whether its pledges reach ordinary workers and families.