Mobilizing technical expertise and European dialogue to serve the African continent
By Jérémie Pellet, Chief Executive Officer of Expertise France
Sustainable infrastructure development is one of the key drivers of growth and stability on the African continent. Against a backdrop of climate emergency, rapid urbanization, and changing basic needs among populations, supporting investment, particularly through the mobilization of businesses and public-private partnerships (PPPs), offers a strategic pathway to serving the public interest. This is one of the key methods for implementing the European Global Gateway strategy, in which cooperation agencies such as Expertise France are working with partner countries to develop infrastructure.
For example, since 2021, Expertise France has been leading the multi-country facility of the Agence française de développement Group dedicated to these partnerships. It is designed to support African governments and regional institutions in creating an investment-friendly environment by combining technical support, institutional strengthening, and operational support.
This facility has three main objectives: to consolidate the legal and institutional frameworks of partner countries, to develop a portfolio of sustainable projects that are attractive to investors, and to strengthen dialogue between public and private actors. Deployed in West Africa, Central Africa, and East Africa, its scope is gradually expanding, notably to Ethiopia through the ECOREF project, which combines the energy and health sectors.
Experience has shown that the regional level is a powerful accelerator. In 2022, WAEMU adopted a regional directive on PPPs, which is already being transposed into national law, paving the way for the harmonization of practices and the emergence of the first projects benefiting several member states. In the CEMAC region (Central Africa), a similar dynamic took shape in 2025 with the adoption of a regional PPP directive and the implementation of a structuring project, implemented by Expertise France to the tune of €22 million, dedicated to the major road corridors linking Douala, N’Djamena, Libreville, and Bangui, which are essential for trade and subregional integration. These regulatory advances demonstrate the ability of African institutions to establish common and credible rules to attract private capital and undertake large-scale projects.
In several countries, the results are already visible. In Côte d’Ivoire, support provided to the National Steering Committee for these partnerships has enabled more than a hundred infrastructure projects to be identified. Around ten of these projects, covering the transport, health, and digital sectors, are now being structured. In Djibouti, long-term support for the Ministry of Economy has led to the creation of a unit dedicated to public-private investment and the selection of a portfolio of eleven priority projects.
A second phase, now underway, aims to transform these intentions into concrete projects, for example in the field of construction materials and asphalting.
In Cameroon, 22 projects have been selected as priorities, including the development of local infrastructure such as the Ngoumou dry port. Finally, in Mauritania, support for the authorities has encouraged the emergence of innovative projects in the tourism, energy, and sanitation sectors, contributing to sustainable economic diversification.
Beyond these concrete initiatives, Expertise France’s support has helped strengthen the capacities of more than 500 public officials, who have been trained in the analysis, structuring, and negotiation of complex contracts. The administrations supported now have robust legal and technical tools at their disposal, strengthening their autonomy and credibility with private investors. This work also helps to establish a culture of public-private dialogue that is essential for the development of sustainable and inclusive projects.
This initiative, driven by French expertise and in close partnership with institutions in these countries, particularly in West Africa, is fully in line with the European Global Gateway strategy. It illustrates the desire to rethink the way cooperation projects are designed, by strengthening multilateral dialogue in the service of joint construction between Europe and Africa for the implementation of structuring projects.
