The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) is building the Integrated Aviation Transformation Program (IATP), a continent-wide platform designed to modernise the aviation ecosystem and mobilise private, institutional, and concessional capital at scale.
- •The programme seeks to align policy reform, innovative financing instruments, and project execution within a single, bankable framework.
- •Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has raised its Africa projections as the region's passenger growth and capacity now outpaces Asia's.
- •Africa’s aviation sector faces structural constraints, including high cost of capital, fragmented regulatory regimes, infrastructure gaps, and limited access to long-term financing.
“Africa represents nearly 18 percent of the global population but accounts for less than three percent of worldwide air traffic, reflecting structural and regulatory barriers rather than weak demand,” African Airlines Association (AFRAA) Secretary General Abderahmane Berthé.
Over the next two decades, one in four new global air travellers is expected to originate from Africa, driven by rapid urbanisation, a growing middle-income population, and a youthful demographic profile. Despite this, the continent's aviation sector lags behind its global peers on most metrics due to multilayered constraints that hurt business models, stunt competitiveness, and delay necessary expansion.
For example, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) projects that African airlines will generate net margins of only 1–2%, below the global average forecast of 3.9% in 2026. In addition, intra-African traffic accounts for only about a quarter of total air travel, with many passengers required to transit outside the continent.
According to AfDB's Director for Infrastructure and Urban Development, Mike Salawou, the IATP seeks to de-risk priority investments, support early pilot transactions, and restore confidence among commercial and institutional financiers.
AfDB made the announcement at the two-day Airlines, Capital and Connectivity Forum convened in Nairobi on 25–26 February 2026 by the African Development Bank Group in partnership with AFRAA.
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