France’s Macron announces $27bn investment in Africa at Kenya summit
Key takeaways
- The Africa Forward summit comes amid France’s fading ties with its former African colonies, as Kenya seeks greater trade.
- These investments would create 250,000 jobs in France and Africa, Macron said at the two-day summit – France’s first in an English-speaking African country – which started on Monday.
- “And that too is what underpins this relationship, now entirely free of hang-ups,” Macron said.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
The Africa Forward summit comes amid France’s fading ties with its former African colonies, as Kenya seeks greater trade.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo The Africa Forward Summit 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, is France’s first significant event on the continent to boost trade ties, May 11, 2026 [Monicah Mwangi/Reuters]By Agence France Presse, AP and Reuters Published On 12 May 202612 May 2026French President Emmanuel Macron has announced 23 billion euros ($27bn) of investment during the Africa Forward summit in Kenya.
Macron said on Monday that Africa and France had a “partnership of equals” with common objectives, as he announced 14 billion euros ($16.4bn) of investments in private and public funds from French companies, and 9 billion euros ($10.5bn) from African ones, on energy transition, agriculture and artificial intelligence (AI).