France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) speaks with Kenya's Sabastian Sawe (2nd R), the first man to run under two hours for a marathon in race conditions at a sport demonstration during the Africa Forward summit in Nairobi on May 11, 2026. (Photo by Ludovic Marin / AFP)
Nairobi: French President Emmanuel Macron announced 23 billion euros ($27 billion) of investment for Africa during a major summit on the future of the continent hosted by Kenya on Monday.
France has brought together dozens of heads of state and business leaders for the two-day Africa Forward summit in Nairobi, aimed at renewing France's engagement with the continent after years of strained ties with its former colonies.
The investments Macron announced include 14 billion euros in private and public funds from French entities, and nine billion euros from African investors, focused on energy transition, digital and AI, the maritime economy and agriculture.
They would create 250,000 direct jobs in France and Africa, Macron said.
"We are not simply here to come and invest on the African continent alongside you -- we need the great African business leaders to come and invest in France," he told the audience at Nairobi's convention centre.
"And that too is what underpins this relationship, now entirely free of hang-ups," he added.
Ahead of the summit, Macron told The Africa Report that colonialism could no longer be blamed for all of Africa's challenges.
"We must not exonerate from all responsibility the seven decades that followed independence," he told the magazine, calling on African leaders to improve governance.
Europe's former colonial powers were not "the predators of this century," he added.
In a speech at the summit, Macron also said that the process of returning African artworks looted during the colonial era had become "unstoppable".
The French parliament last week passed a law paving the way for Macron to return looted African cultural artefacts.
