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In his last month in office as President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina said Africa’s true wealth lies not only in its natural resources but also in its ability to govern them transparently, enforce contracts fairly, and ensure justice for all citizens. 

Dr. Adesina said this while delivering his keynote address, titled “Public Finance, Governance, Justice and Development”, at the Kenya Law Society’s 2025 Annual Conference, which held last month at Kenya’s coastal town of Diani, some 35 kilometres south of Mombasa, with more than 1,200 lawyers, judges, and government officials in attendance.

He made a call for bold legal and governance reforms to unlock Africa’s prosperity, and drew a link between judicial independence, sound public finance, and sustainable economic growth.

“When Africa stands for the rule of law, the world will stand with Africa,” Adesina said. 

According to him, Africa faces a $100 billion annual gap in foreign direct investment (FDI), a situation compounded by weak rule of law rankings, debt vulnerabilities, and predatory “vulture fund” cases.

“Evidence suggests that foreign direct investments move more to countries that have political stability, stable democracies, transparency, and low levels of corruption,” Adesina said. He also mentioned an independent and transparent judiciary, strong regulatory frameworks, public accountability, efficient public service, competition policy, and respect for intellectual property rights as key drivers of FDI.