LUSAKA, ZAMBIA | 10 June 2026 — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today launched the fifth edition of the Africa Investment Insights Report at the Africa Impact Summit 2026 in Lusaka, Zambia, highlighting the growing role of Africa’s insurance sector in mobilizing long-term capital for sustainable development.

The report also highlights Africa’s increasingly dynamic and diversified investment landscape, with opportunities expanding beyond traditional sectors into areas such as agrifood systems, renewable energy, healthcare, education and financial inclusion.

Produced by the UNDP Africa Sustainable Finance Hub (ASFH), the report examines how insurance and institutional investment can help expand financing for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-aligned sectors across the continent. Drawing on insights from UNDP’s SDG investment work across Africa, the report explores the policy, regulatory and market conditions needed to unlock greater domestic capital for inclusive growth, resilience and long-term development.

At its core, the report underscores that a significant share of the capital required to seize these opportunities already exists within the continent, particularly in the form of underutilized domestic institutional capital such as insurance assets.

This year’s edition places a particular focus on insurers as both risk managers and institutional investors, and examines how stronger enabling environments can help channel more capital towards productive sectors of the economy.

This edition also broadens its scope by incorporating new data from SDG Investor Maps in Mali, Senegal and the Africa Borderlands, offering deeper insight into underserved and frontier markets, including cross-border trade dynamics and local value chains.

“A farmer losing a harvest in Malawi, a small trader in Lusaka, a young entrepreneur who cannot access finance—these are not failures of ambition. Too often, they are failures of systems. And when those systems fail, the cost is carried by ordinary families and overstretched public budgets,” said Maxwell Gomera, Director of the UNDP Africa Sustainable Finance Hub. “Africa is not capital scarce. Significant capital already exists within our insurance and financial systems. The challenge—and the opportunity—is connecting that capital to the people, businesses and communities building Africa’s future. That is what this report is about.”

The report comes at a time of increasing pressure on development financing globally. Developing countries continue to face a widening SDG financing gap, while many governments are navigating tighter fiscal conditions, rising debt burdens and declining aid flows. UNDP’s sustainable finance work supports countries to strengthen financing systems, align public and private investment with development priorities, and build more resilient economies. 

Building on UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility (IRFF), the report further highlights the opportunity to better mobilize insurance capital, noting that only a small share is currently directed towards SDG-aligned sectors despite its significant potential.

The report highlights the importance of strengthening domestic financial systems and creating investment environments that support long-term, SDG-aligned capital allocation. It also explores the role of public policy, blended finance approaches and market reforms in expanding investment opportunities across Africa.It also challenges traditional perceptions of risk, emphasizing that emerging and underserved markets, including borderland regions, can represent viable investment opportunities when supported by the right policy frameworks and partnerships.

UNDP launched the annual Africa Investment Insights Report at the Africa Impact Summit 2026, hosted by the Africa Impact Investing Group’s Zambia National Advisory Board for Impact Investment (NABII)—a UNDP partner for the Africa Impact Summit. The Africa Impact Summit brings together policymakers, investors, development finance institutions, insurers and private sector leaders to discuss practical pathways for scaling investment across Africa. It also underscores the importance of stronger collaboration between public and private actors to scale financing solutions that deliver both financial returns and sustainable development impact.

“Africa’s development future will increasingly depend on how effectively domestic capital is mobilized and aligned with national priorities,” said Peter Chintu, Programme Manager at NABII. “Insurance institutions hold significant long-term capital that can help finance sustainable infrastructure, productive industries and resilience-building investments across the continent. Unlocking this potential requires stronger investment ecosystems, policy coherence and greater alignment between financial systems and development priorities.”

UNDP supports countries in aligning finance with sustainable development through integrated financing approaches, investment platforms, SDG-aligned policy reforms and sustainable finance solutions. Since 2022, UNDP has helped align or leverage more than $920 billion in public and private finance for the SDGs globally. 

The report also builds on UNDP’s broader work supporting sustainable finance ecosystems across Africa, including through SDG investment mapping, insurance and risk finance, Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs), and investment facilitation initiatives.

The Africa Investment Insights Report 2026 is available here.

For a comprehensive exploration of the SDGs Investor Map market intelligence, visit the SDG Investor Platform.