To boost free trade in Africa, infrastructure plays a key role. A report from the International Trade Council submitted to the Connecticut General Assembly (the legislative branch of the State Government of Connecticut) noted a few years ago that “International trade cannot happen without roads, bridges, railroads, harbors, airports, and fiber optic cables”, concluding that for this reason, infrastructure should be regarded (by States) not only as financial burdens, but as economic assets where to attract strategic investments. In Africa, a continent that is tipically characterized by long distances between urban centers and production areas, railway transport is key, being this mode of transport the most economically viable over long distances and for the transportation of high cargo volumes (as the load capacity of trains is much higher than lorries or trucks). Yet, this mode of transport is also the most underdeveloped in Africa. This is mostly due to the colonial legacy of the African transport system. Indeed, most of the railways and interstate roads that currently exist in Africa were built during the colonization era by European nations to connect mining areas and agricultural production centers in the interior of the continent to the coast, so as to enable the export of raw materials needed to feed the production processes of European manufacturing companies. The same nations had no economic interest in building railroads and roads connecting African states to each other.

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Among the main decisions arisen during the 37th AU summit held from 15th January to 18th February 2024 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, there is the launch of an Alliance for African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AAMFI), also called "Africa Club". AAMFIs are a group of African-owned and African-controlled financial institutions that were created to support investments and financing needs of African States. They include the African Export Import Bank (AfreximBank), the Trade and Development Bank (TDB), the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa-Re) and the African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI). All these institutions are owned and participated by African states and play an important role on financing and investment in Africa, by supporting African states’ debt during recent times of crisis.  So far, however, they have acted independently from each other. The idea is to create a structure that can coordinate the actions of all these institutions so that they can work in a concerted manner.

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