Unlocking domestic capital to drive infrastructure development across the East African Community (EAC) is crucial for sustaining economic growth in the region.
The EAC faces an infrastructure deficit currently estimated at $42 billion annually for modernizing transportation, energy, and communication systems. This gap is hindering efforts toward stronger regional integration.
During the 2025 East Africa Institutional Investors Forum held recently in Arusha, Tanzania, Standard Bank Group affiliates Stanbic Bank Kenya, Stanbic Bank Uganda, and Stanbic Bank Tanzania together with institutional investors, policymakers, and regulators, discussed ways to mobilize alternative sources of finance.
The two-day forum focused on transitioning domestic capital from passive reserves into active investments in key strategic infrastructure projects.
Officially opening the discussions, Aime Uwase, the Director of Planning at the EAC Secretariat, said:
“A robust infrastructure network is not only crucial but also plays a foundational role in regional integration. Traditionally, much of our development funding has depended on external sources. However, by unlocking domestic capital, we not only diversify sources of funding but also strengthen our economic resilience.”
Poor infrastructure, apart from hurting the EAC’s international competitiveness in attracting foreign investment, also acts as a significant barrier to regional trade by increasing costs and limiting market access.
Highlighting the importance of the forum, Zoya Sisulu, Sector Head of the Financial Institutions Group at Standard Bank, said:
“All the critical players in the East African market are here, including regulators, asset allocators, and asset owners. These role players are best placed to resolve the market challenges in support of driving the infrastructure theme, which is important for the region going forward.”
Micheal Sseguya, Head of the Financial Institutions Group for Corporate and Investment Banking at Stanbic Bank Uganda, said:
“We are here to bring together institutional investors to talk about opportunities to diversify their investments beyond treasury bills and bonds and into commercial real estate, infrastructure, and large projects that are necessary for East African countries to develop.”
He added:
“We received feedback from several investors on what they consider as critical areas of investment. We also heard from regulators and other players in this space. This is crucial for us to chart the path forward and hopefully encourage and support our governments in East Africa to direct new capital into this space.”
Sseguya stressed that the region needs new infrastructure to support the logistics involved in the movement of people and goods:
“Governments may not always have the funds to invest in these projects due to many competing priorities. Our conversations are about how to structure these infrastructure transactions and how to get stakeholders to support what we are trying to do.”
Benedict Nkini, Vice President for Financial Institutions at Stanbic Bank Tanzania, emphasized the availability of private capital:
“The EAC has an immense amount of private capital held by commercial banks, fund managers, and asset managers across the region. The region also has a very large funding requirement for strategic infrastructure projects. The purpose of this forum is to bring together infrastructure players, financiers, Development Finance Institutions, regulators, and government entities to combine expertise and drive forward the East African infrastructure agenda.”
The issue of risk was also raised during the discussions. Alternative sources of funding such as pension funds and private assets under management are overseen by managers accountable to their respective members or investors.
Alex Rumanyika, Head of Strategy at the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), said that as custodians of people’s savings, their first priority is to ensure the safety of investments:
“NSSF is assuming a more active role in making investment decisions, but we must be cautious about investing in large-scale infrastructure. One possible option is to have an arrangement with the TDB (Trade Development Bank). They can create an infrastructure instrument on the stock exchange, making it easier for pension funds to invest in such deals. The key thing is to have the right vehicle and the right people to do the heavy lifting. That makes it easier for pension funds to get involved. At the end of the day, pensions are long-term, but safety is the first priority.”
Other risk factors influencing the mobilization of domestic savings into public projects include lack of predictability, transparency, political interference, and vested interests.
Moderating a panel discussion, Mphokolo Makara, Executive Head of Energy and Infrastructure Financing for East Africa at Stanbic Bank, noted:
“As capital providers, it is important to understand the risks, our appetite for them, and how those risks align with our respective mandates in order to fully support infrastructure development in the region.”