Earlier this month, Dubai’s DP World said it would spend $90 million over two years to more than double the capacity of its terminal at Angola’s main port. By Gulf standards that is a modest cheque. Still, it fits a pattern that has marked 2026: money from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh and Doha landing on African docks, wind farms and highways faster than almost any other financier can manage right now.
A gap that keeps widening
The size of the problem explains the welcome. The African Development Bank puts the continent’s infrastructure needs at roughly $170 billion a year. Actual spending sits between $80 billion and $90 billion, which leaves a yearly hole of close to $80 billion. Some analysts think the true gap is wider still.
The usual suppliers of money have been pulling back. Researchers at Chatham House point to a 38 percent fall in foreign direct investment into Africa in 2025 and a cut of around 90 percent in US development assistance in the same year. Chinese lenders, long the default choice for a new railway or highway, have become far more selective. Gulf investors, sitting on energy wealth and looking for places to put it, have stepped into the space. The UAE is now counted as Africa’s fourth-largest foreign direct investor, behind China, the European Union and the United States.
Ports: where the Emirates are betting hardest
The UAE has established a particularly strong position in African maritime infrastructure. Its approach increasingly connects port operations with shipping, warehousing, industrial development and access to international markets.
Tanzania provides a useful example. Through DP World, the UAE is participating in the modernisation of Dar es Salaam Port, one of East Africa’s important gateways for international trade and regional commerce. Under its port concession, DP World has committed more than $500 million to modernise Terminal 1, including improvements to terminal infrastructure and information technology. The agreement operates on a build-operate-transfer basis over 30 years.
The benefits could extend beyond Tanzania. Dar es Salaam serves neighbouring landlocked countries, including Zambia, Malawi, Rwanda, Burundi and parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Better port performance can reduce delays, improve cargo handling and lower some of the costs associated with moving goods across borders.
For businesses, those improvements matter because infrastructure costs influence the competitiveness of entire industries. A manufacturer may have access to raw materials and a willing export market but still struggle to compete if shipping delays, storage charges and inland transport expenses consume its margins.
Senegal offers another important example of Gulf investment in trade infrastructure. In July 2026, DP World announced that major dredging works at the Port of Ndayane had been completed 13 months ahead of schedule. Valued at approximately $1.2 billion, the project is intended to establish a new deep-water port serving Senegal and the wider West African market. Construction is progressing towards a planned completion in 2028. The project had more than 1,000 people employed directly during the reported construction phase.
Ndayane is strategically important because the existing Port of Dakar faces capacity constraints. A new deep-water facility could accommodate larger vessels, expand container-handling capacity and improve Senegal’s ability to compete for regional logistics activity.
The wider opportunity lies in connecting the port to roads, industrial zones and distribution networks. Without those links, a modern port can become an isolated investment rather than a catalyst for wider economic growth.
The UAE’s logistics strategy is also extending into Central Africa. In February 2026, Abu Dhabi-based AD Ports Group joined a 30-year concession to develop a new dry-bulk terminal at the Port of Douala in Cameroon. The arrangement involves UAE investors and Africa Ports Development, with the new terminal intended to strengthen the port’s cargo-handling capacity. The project is expected to create up to 4,000 direct and indirect job opportunities.
For Cameroon, the investment addresses a practical economic problem. Douala is a major commercial gateway for the country and provides access to regional markets. Improving its capacity could support the movement of agricultural commodities, industrial inputs and other bulk cargo while strengthening connections with neighbouring economies.
These projects show that Gulf investment is not limited to constructing individual facilities. It is increasingly directed towards the infrastructure that determines how efficiently African economies connect to global trade.
Power and development loans: Saudi Arabia’s lane
Riyadh has leaned toward electricity and soft loans. ACWA Power, the Saudi developer in which the Public Investment Fund holds 44 percent, calls itself the largest private investor in African power. In Egypt it closed financing on the 1.1-gigawatt Suez wind farm, a $1.2 billion project built with Hassan Allam Utilities and backed by loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the African Development Bank. A second, bigger plant, a 2-gigawatt wind farm worth about $2.3 billion, has a 25-year power purchase agreement with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company, and financial close is expected this year. In South Africa, ACWA’s Redstone solar thermal plant has been working up to its full 100 megawatts.
Behind the company deals sits state money. Saudi Arabia announced a $41 billion pledge for Africa in October 2024. It includes $10 billion in export finance through Saudi EXIM, $5 billion in development finance through the Saudi Fund for Development, and about $25 billion in private-sector investment. The kingdom reaffirmed the commitment in talks with the African Development Bank last October 2026, and it is separately discussing a refinery with South Africa to ease fuel shortages.
The Saudi Fund itself has financed more than 400 projects worth $10.7 billion across 46 African countries, according to figures it published in 2023, and it has a memorandum with the Africa Finance Corporation to co-finance infrastructure. In July it signed another $20 million loan for infrastructure in the Central African Republic, on top of $77 million already provided for the same project.
Egypt, the Gulf’s favourite address
Egypt has become the single biggest destination. An Egyptian official told EnterpriseAM in December that the country expects around $10 billion of Qatari investment by the end of 2026, a mix of sovereign and private money. Much of it is aimed at tourism and property rather than pure infrastructure, including a reported Qatar Investment Authority project covering about 60,000 feddans at Alam El Roum. The UAE led a surge in Gulf energy investment in Egypt early this year, building on Abu Dhabi fund ADQ’s $35 billion Ras El Hekma deal of 2024. AD Ports, for its part, has an agreement with the Suez Canal Economic Zone to develop KEZAD East Port Said.
Elsewhere, Qatar’s biggest African infrastructure asset remains the $1.6 billion Kigali airport, mostly finished in 2023. A Qatari group, Al Mansour Holding, promised $103 billion across six African countries last August. Analysts caution that execution risks remain, and the number still must show up in signed projects.
A new channel for the money, and a Nigerian test
In June, sovereign wealth funds, commercial banks, development finance institutions, institutional investors and corporate issuers launched the Africa-Middle East Corridor at the Global Banking & Markets Middle East conference in Dubai. The aim is to gather capital for infrastructure, deepen Africa’s debt markets and widen cross-border investment between the two regions. Global Finance reports that a lender tied to the effort has already helped finance the $1.13 billion Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in Nigeria.
Nigeria is drawing other Gulf deals too. The UAE signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with Abuja in January, and Abu Dhabi-based ePointZero has agreed to buy 90 percent of Azura Power, which controls 752 megawatts of generating capacity across Nigeria, Senegal and Mozambique. Gabon signed a similar trade pact with the UAE in February.
Institutional Bridgebuilders: How Capital Is Structurally Channelled
The rapid acceleration of Gulf investments across Africa is not occurring in a vacuum. It is facilitated by institutional co-investment frameworks, multilateral guarantees, and policy platforms designed to mitigate sovereign and currency risks. Key African and Middle Eastern institutions serving as primary conduits include:
The African Development Bank (AfDB): Serving as a primary co-financing partner, the AfDB works closely with Saudi Arabian development funds, ACWA Power, and UAE sovereign vehicles. The AfDB’s rollout of a pan-African investment guarantee platform provides political risk insurance and credit enhancement, comforting Gulf investors entering new markets.
Standard Bank Group: Africa’s largest lender by assets acts as an essential co-guarantor and regional banking partner, structuring complex debt packages for entities like DP World and Gulf energy operators.
The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) & Islamic Development Bank (IsDB): These institutions provide concessional loans and trade finance instruments that complement commercial equity from the PIF, targeting road corridors, water sanitation, and agricultural processing zones.
Africa Finance Corporation (AFC): The AFC frequently co-invests alongside Gulf sovereign wealth funds such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) to de-risk large-scale transport and industrial zone developments.
Ghana: An Opportunity in Energy and Industrial Infrastructure
Ghana has an opportunity to attract Gulf investment into energy, logistics and industrial development. In June 2026, the UAE expressed interest in Ghana’s proposed Petroleum Hub, which envisages refineries, storage terminals, petrochemical industries and supporting port infrastructure. Although discussions signal investor interest, substantial financing, regulatory certainty and commercial viability remain essential. Ghana can strengthen its investment proposition by connecting the Petroleum Hub with existing ports, transport networks and industrial zones. Strategic partnerships with UAE investors could support technology transfer, job creation and regional petroleum trade, positioning Ghana as a competitive industrial and energy hub in West Africa.
The African Development Bank and the Rise of Co-financing
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is strengthening partnerships with Gulf development institutions to mobilise financing for Africa’s infrastructure and economic transformation. In January 2026, the AfDB Group and the Arab Coordination Group established a strategic partnership to expand co-financing, attract private investment and support development projects. Institutions such as the Saudi Fund for Development, Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and Qatar Fund for Development are important participants in this financing landscape. By combining concessional loans, commercial capital and technical expertise, these partnerships can support roads, energy, ports and industrial infrastructure while reducing pressure on African governments limited public finances.
Conclusion: Turning Capital into Productive Infrastructure
In 2026, Gulf investment is creating new opportunities to address Africa’s infrastructure deficit through ports, roads, renewable energy, industrial parks and electricity networks. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf partners are increasingly working with African governments and development institutions to mobilise capital for critical projects. However, the real measure of success lies beyond investment commitments. African countries must ensure transparent agreements, sound debt management, local employment, technology transfer and meaningful private-sector participation. Ultimately, Gulf capital must translate into productive infrastructure that reduces business costs, strengthens regional trade, expands electricity access and supports sustainable economic transformation across Africa.