Introductory Remarks at the IMF’s African Department Press Briefing
IMF News, April 25, 2025
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- Authors: Abebe Selassie
- Published: April 25, 2025
Growth outlook and drivers
- Growth in sub-Saharan Africa is now expected to ease to 3.8 percent in 2025 and 4.2 percent in 2026—marked down from October projections.
- Downgrade driven largely by difficult external conditions: weaker demand abroad, softer commodity prices, and tighter financial markets.
- Recent positive momentum in 2024 was overtaken by a sudden realignment of global priorities and a surge of global policy uncertainty reshaping the region’s growth trajectory.
Downside risks and external pressures
- Any further increase in trade tensions or tightening of financial conditions in advanced economies could:
- further dampen regional confidence;
- raise borrowing costs; and
- delay investment.
- Official Development Assistance to sub-Saharan Africa is likely to decline further, placing extra strain on the most vulnerable populations.
Persistent domestic vulnerabilities
- High debt levels constrain many countries’ ability to finance essential services and development priorities.
- Inflationary pressures:
- have moderated at the regional level; but
- quite a number of countries are still grappling with elevated inflation, necessitating a tight monetary stance and careful fiscal policy.
Policy priorities and recommendations
- Calibrate policies to balance growth, social development, and macroeconomic stability; build robust fiscal and external buffers underpinned by credibility and consistency in policymaking.
- Priorities to strengthen resilience:
- Mobilize domestic revenue.
- Improve spending efficiency.
- Strengthen public financial management and fiscal frameworks to lower borrowing costs.
- Structural reforms to support private sector–led growth:
- Enhance governance.
- Improve the business climate.
- Foster regional trade integration.
- Emphasized need for high growth to generate the millions of jobs that are needed.
Strategic importance and IMF support
- A strong, stable, and prosperous sub-Saharan Africa is important for its people and for global prosperity, as the region will be the main source of labor and incremental investment and consumption demand in the decades to come.
- External support during the region’s demographic transition is of tremendous strategic importance.
- The Fund’s recent financial support:
- disbursed over $65 billion since 2020; and
- disbursed more than $8 billion last year.
- The IMF continues to provide policy advice and capacity development to support more countries.
Introductory Remarks at the IMF’s African Department Press Briefing By Abebe Selassie, Director of the African Department, 2025 Spring Meetings, April 25, 2025.