Speakers at the opening of the 16th Africa PPP Infrastructure Finance, Investment & Partnerships Summit urged governments to stop repeating discussions on the financing gap and instead concentrate on structuring projects that can attract private capital.

The summit, held in Nairobi from 11 to 13 November, brought together over 400 participants from 36 nations, including officials, investors, financiers and developers.

Kenya’s Public‑Private Partnerships Directorate hosted the event, which was organized by AME Trade Limited with backing from the State Department for Public Investments and Asset Management, under the theme “Building Africa’s Prosperity: Transformative Infrastructure, Investment and Partnerships to Accelerate Economic Development.”

Analysts highlighted that the continent needs between US$130 billion and US$170 billion of infrastructure spending each year, leaving a financing shortfall estimated at US$68 billion to US$108 billion.

Kenya showcased its own pipeline of 60 public‑private partnership projects across national and county levels, with ten active projects valued at roughly Ksh 353 billion, six of which are operating and four under construction, including the Ksh 183 billion Nairobi–Nakuru–Mau Summit Highway.

An additional fifty projects are in various preparation stages, and after approving seven new projects in the first quarter, the government aims to attract at least Ksh 70 billion of fresh private investment through PPPs within the current fiscal year.

This edition marks Kenya’s second time hosting the summit, the first being the third edition in 2011.