Sir Sam Jonah calls for African domestic savings to reduce foreign capital dependence

Ghanaian business leader Sir Sam Jonah has called for African nations to mobilize domestic savings to reduce their reliance on expensive foreign capital. He noted a structural weakness where African economies effectively export their savings into low-risk international assets while simultaneously borrowing from global markets at high interest rates to fund infrastructure and industrial expansion.

To address this, Jonah argues that institutional investors, particularly pension funds, must play a larger role by providing patient, long-term domestic capital. This would help mitigate the high sovereign risk premiums that African governments and corporations currently face due to currency volatility and perceived institutional weaknesses.

Furthermore, the continent faces a “missing middle” in capital availability. While micro-businesses and large corporations have established financing channels, mid-sized firms ready for expansion often hit a financing wall. These growing companies frequently lack the collateral or formal governance structures required by conventional lenders, preventing them from accessing the specific types of long-term investment needed to scale.