Why This Matters Now

Africa’s Development Finance Institutions are under direct pressure to perform – at scale and with speed.

Institutions that can mobilise capital at scale and allocate it deliberately – into investments that generate visible, economically material outcomes while strengthening institutional performance – will set the pace for Africa’s next phase of development. Institutions that cannot will struggle to meet rising expectations from governments, markets, and the public.

Across the continent, DFIs are expected to mobilise and deploy capital into infrastructure, industry, SMEs, climate transition, and innovation — while operating with tighter capital headroom, higher risk complexity, greater scrutiny, and faster technological change.

What differentiates institutions now is not intent, but how effectively capital is mobilised, how selectively it is allocated, and how clearly decisions are made under pressure.

What GILFI 3 Is

 GILFI 3 is a strategic, high-level working forum for leaders who carry direct responsibility for capital, balance sheets, portfolios, and institutional performance:

• Board Chairs and Board Members
• Chief Executive Officers
• C-level executives with decision authority over capital, risk, and strategy

It is designed for leaders who must deliver measurable results within the next 12–24 months.

This is not a conference or retreat.

It is a decision forum.

What Leaders Work On

 Over three days, leaders work directly on the issues that now shape performance and outcomes:

• how institutions are designed to mobilise capital at scale without weakening balance sheets;
• how origination, risk, pricing, and portfolio construction are aligned so returns and development objectives reinforce each other;
• how digital, data, and AI are used as decision infrastructure, not side initiatives;
• how leadership teams make clear choices when uncertainty is high, data is incomplete, and risks are interconnected.

How the Programme Works

 GILFI 3 is highly interactive and decision-focused.

Leaders test how capital can be mobilised, structured, and allocated at scale using realistic market and risk scenarios. They work through explicit leadership choices about:

• how capital is mobilised across institutions and markets;
• where capital is placed — and where it should not be;
• what activities, products, or exposures must be exited, simplified, strengthened, or newly built; and
• which institutional capabilities must be built over the next 12–24 months to improve performance.

Leaders leave with clear priorities and concrete decisions – not reports or frameworks.

Why GILFI 3 Matters for Africa’s DFIs

 Africa’s development trajectory will be shaped by how effectively DFIs mobilise capital and how productively they allocate it.

GILFI 3 gives AADFI members a rare opportunity to step out of day-to-day pressures and focus on the institutional choices that determine capital mobilisation capacity, investment quality, and strategic positioning.

It is a space to decide what must change, what must be protected, and what must now be deliberately built — so institutions can deliver at the scale required.

Participation

 Participation is by institutional nomination only

• Places are limited to maintain a leadership-level peer group
• AADFI strongly encourages the personal participation of Chief Executive Officers

Nomination deadline: 10 February 2026

(Early confirmation is recommended due to seat assurance, visa, and logistical requirements for Germany.)