Michelle Atta-Mills, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), has stated that Africa’s greatest obstacle in delivering transformative infrastructure projects is not the lack of money but the lack of preparation.
Speaking during a panel discussion at the Africa Trade Summit 2026, on January 31, 2026, she stated, “The primary challenge for infrastructure projects especially large corridors is not funding availability but preparation, too many projects fail before they even get to financial modeling or financial funding stage.”
Atta-Mills explained that multi-country projects often stumble over differing standards and compliance requirements.
“Different countries involved in a corridor project have varying standards for feasibility studies and environmental impact assessments and this complicates the process,” she noted.
She stressed that while significant funding exists including climate funds and grants, the real challenge is turning strong ideas into bankable projects.
“There is significant funding available to Africa for infrastructure…but the challenge is helping project sponsors transform great concepts into financial gearing that attracts investment.”
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Atta-Mills emphasised the importance of strategic partnerships with Development Finance Institutions, saying, “These relationships can provide early-stage technical assistance that helps de-risk the project and enables it to reach the next stage of financing.”
She also urged African nations to rethink domestic capital allocation, “Pension funds, which are currently being invested in commercial papers, could be channeled into infrastructure investments leading to significant developmental impact.”
The Summit was officially opened by President John Dramani Mahama, who declared that Africa’s defining task is economic independence.
“We can no longer accept an economic model that consigns Africa to exporting raw materials and importing finished goods. That model is a new colonial arrangement,” he said.
Mahama called for large-scale mobilisation of domestic and institutional capital, stronger public private partnerships and reforms to the global financial system to secure long-term finance.
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