The German Federal Government's Africa Policy

A deepened partnership with Africa. In December 2016, Germany assumed the G20 presidency with the central goal of deepening the international partnership with the continent of Africa. Since then, a lot has happened. New initiatives and programs have been developed and more and more federal ministries are getting involved in Africa. Efforts are also being made at the state level to further develop partnerships with our neighboring continent.
The following is a brief overview of the German government's Africa policy.

Africa policy guidelines

In 2019, the German government further developed the Africa policy guidelines from 2014. The aim is to create a deeper partnership at eye level.
The guidelines serve to consolidate the ministries' individual strategies and set clear priorities for Africa policy.
The focus will be on the following five goals:
  • Creating peace, security and stability
  • Sustainable economic development, growth, prosperity and employment for all - investing in prospects for Africa's youth and women
  • Managing and shaping migration, mitigating the causes of flight, supporting refugees
  • Strengthening the rules-based world order with Africa
  • Deepening our civil society partnerships

Compact with Africa

The Compact with Africa initiative was launched in 2017 under the German G20 presidency. The main goal of the initiative is to work with African countries to improve conditions for private investment and employment opportunities in Africa. For this purpose, reform-minded African countries are brought together with international organizations, such as the World Bank or the African Development Bank, as well as G20 partner countries.
The initiative is demand-driven and open to all African countries. Together, the partners develop individual solutions tailored to each country. There are no blanket solutions. African partner countries agree to implement macroeconomic and rule-of-law reforms, while the G20 countries support bringing partner countries together with international investors and coordinate support measures.
Twelve African countries are already participating in Compact with Africa: Egypt, Ethiopia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia.
In Germany, the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) is responsible for implementing the initiative.
For more information, visit the Compact with Africa website.

Marshall Plan for Africa

As part of Germany's efforts to strengthen its commitment to Africa, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) realigned its cooperation with Africa in early 2017. The result is the so-called "Marshall Plan for Africa". It forms the basis of Germany's commitment to the Compact with Africa initiative.
The Marshall Plan for Africa represents a "contract for the future" with Africa. It is based on the following three pillars:
  • Economy, trade and employment
  • Peace and security
  • Democracy and the rule of law
All three pillars include important points such as improving the investment and innovation climate, expanding the security architecture, legal security, reducing bureaucracy, modernizing administration and reducing corruption, the implementation of which will improve the political and economic framework conditions. The topics of digitization and greater support for women and girls are receiving attention in all areas.
Reform partnerships with selected African countries are a central element of the Marshall Plan with Africa.
Further information on the Marshall Plan with Africa can be found here.

New reform partnerships

As part of the G20 Compact with Africa initiative and the Marshall Plan with Africa, the BMZ has concluded several bilateral partnerships with African countries, known as reform partnerships. Reform partnerships have been in place with Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Tunisia since 2017. In 2019, three more reform partnerships were concluded with Ethiopia, Morocco and Senegal.
The aim is to improve good governance and the framework conditions for private-sector activity. The partner countries are characterized by their particular willingness to reform and their own efforts. They set their own priorities and goals. In addition, priority sectors are selected to support the achievement of the objectives. Cooperation with Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana focuses on renewable energy and energy efficiency, while Tunisia and Morocco focus on the banking and financial sectors. In Ethiopia and Senegal, sustainable economic development is being supported.
Together with the partner countries, detailed reform agendas were agreed upon, which specify both reform obligations of the partner country and support offers by the BMZ that support the achievement of the goals and promote development in reform sectors.
More information on the reform partnerships can be found here.

Development Investment Fund

The Development Investment Fund (EIF) was launched in 2019 and complements Germany's efforts to become more involved in Africa. The EIF's mission is to promote private investment in African countries. The EIF consists of three components:
  • AfricaConnect
  • AfricaGrow
  • Africa Business Network
The Africa Business Network is implemented by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). It is an instrument for foreign trade promotion and is a bundled advisory and support service.
AfricaConnect and AfricaGrow are implemented by the BMZ. AfricaConnect is a comprehensive financing instrument and AfricaGrow is a fund of funds to support small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups on the African continent.

Pro! Africa

The initiative Pro! Africa was launched by the BMWi in 2017. It is based on the German government's Africa policy guidelines. The aim is to strengthen the economy and sustainable growth in Africa through deeper cooperation and increased private sector involvement.
The focus is particularly on projects and initiatives in the field of new technology, innovation and digitization. A variety of new as well as existing BMWi instruments and measures are brought together under the initiative to achieve a deepening of the partnership with African countries on an equal footing.
These include the establishment of business committees, the further development of energy partnerships and export initiatives, the expansion of market development programs, the enlargement of the AHK network as well as the staffing of selected AHKs and the establishment of competence centers.
Information on Pro! Africa can be found here.
Stand: 19.04.2024