Action agenda
Four priorities
The work of the Urban2063 Coalition is grounded in rigorous scientific analysis, peer exchange, and narrative development. The research identifies four critical priorities:
01: Build green value chains in African cities
The G20 has a chance to do something genuinely transformative: to base its international trade and finance agenda around initiatives that drive structural economic change in African cities. Green value chains are needed that don’t just tick sustainability boxes but actually create jobs, promote inclusion, and accelerate development where it’s most essential.
This matters because when policy frameworks like this gain momentum, they unlock entire portfolios of infrastructure investment across the continent, including energy grids, transportation networks, broadband systems, and waste management. The Pan-African Infrastructure Development Fund and similar programmes have been working on this for years, but have largely overlooked the fact that city governments know this stuff better than anyone, and should be central to planning these investments.
02: Create new financial pathways for cities
Most African cities face a catch-22. They need infrastructure investment, but can’t access international financial markets because of national restrictions. The G20 should push multilateral development banks to establish dedicated credit lines to national development banks specifically for subnational lending, thereby creating a financial bridge that cities can cross.
Imagine this scenario: institutions like the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the African Development Bank, along with their counterparts, are able to lend to national development banks, which then extend credit to cities in local currency and within familiar fiscal frameworks. It’s an intermediation model that makes sense because these institutions understand local contexts in ways that distant international lenders simply cannot, and they can bundle smaller projects into bankable portfolios. The Development Bank of South Africa is already planning to dramatically expand its balance sheet over the next decade, with increased African lending as a priority. This approach could increase the volume of capital flows if the institutional reforms take hold.
03: Include cities in debt restructuring conversations
African cities already account for approximately 70% of the continent’s GDP. Cities drive economic growth and development, so they deserve a seat at the table when it comes to global debt restructuring and financial reform. This isn’t just about fairness, it’s about pragmatically accepting reality and dealing with it.
Sub-Saharan African countries are facing rising debt risks, and cities shouldn’t bear the brunt of national fiscal constraints. The financial pathway described above offers a potential solution: the more cities can borrow against their own balance sheets, the more infrastructure programmes they can pursue even when national governments are financially hamstrung. It’s a way to keep development moving when traditional channels get blocked.
04: Fix the data problem. Now.
Here’s the simple truth: African cities need better data about themselves. No ifs, no buts. Current statistics on urban economies are deeply flawed because they overlook the informal economic activity that constitutes a significant portion of these markets. This amounts to an enormous undercount of real economic activity, including cross-border trade. The G20 should support urgent action to enhance sub-national data quality by establishing shared protocols across African statistical agencies. Better data doesn’t just help with planning; it transforms a city’s financial standing. When administrative data accurately captures economic activity, it dramatically enhances cities’ revenue-raising capacity. And financially viable city governments become much more attractive prospects to receive loans from development banks.
This is pretty straightforward, and shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone: better data leads to stronger city finances, which creates more opportunities for institutions like the Development Bank of South Africa and other multilateral lenders to support urban development. It’s the kind of foundational work on which sustainable economies are built.
The stakes
Why
African
cities
matter
Africa’s long-term prosperity depends largely on its ability to harness the inclusive growth, productivity, and innovation potential associated with urbanisation.
Africa’s current level of urbanisation is 43%, yet urban economies already contribute 70% of Africa’s GDP. Experts agree that urbanisation will reach 60% by 2050, the very moment when the world economy is expected to be net-zero.
This is a reminder that Africa must navigate its urban transition in a manner that optimises job creation through green industrialisation and the installation of resilient infrastructure networks that can support thriving cities, reflecting the cultural expression of African indigenous knowledge and aspirations.
How African countries and cities plan, execute and maintain the material fabric of their cities holds the key to whether the ambitions of Agenda 2063 to forge a culturally vibrant, employment-rich and sustainable Africa will be achieved.
Given these stakes, the Urban 2063 Coalition undertakes targeted advocacy to create an enabling political context for sustainable urbanism.
The stakes
Our goals
Influence critical Pan-African development policy spaces to accelerate action that advances sustainable urbanisation.
Develop a series of cogent arguments for African leaders about the importance of getting urbanisation right in order to achieve the vision of Agenda 2063.
Popularise a shared narrative about the exciting potential of focussing on the drivers of sustainable urbanisation to unlock Africa’s development and cultural potential.
Foster a nimble community of practice and solidarity among organisations and leaders that work on different aspects of the urbanisation policy landscape.
The stakes
The
Coalition
The Urban2063 Coalition, led by the African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town, promotes the importance of sustainable urbanisation as central to Africa’s structural transformation in line with the vision of Agenda 2063. During 2025, the work of the Urban2063 Coalition is focused on the deliberations of the G20, with a specific focus on the Urban 20 outcomes.
The Urban 2063 Coalition is comprised of contributing partners that include: African Centre for Cities, African Climate and Development Institute, Association of African Planning Schools, ARUP – Africa Region, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (Africa chapter), Centre for Sustainable Transitions – Stellenbosch University, Cityscapes, Climate KIC, Club of Rome (Africa Section), Urban Futures Studio – Utrecht University, Women in Employment Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO), World Resource Institute (WRI), Overseas Development Institute (ODI) & GSM Association (GSMA).
The work of the Urban2063 Coalition is generously supported by the: Africa Climate Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Development Bank of Southern Africa and Ford Foundation.
Explore our policy briefs
To foster an evidence-based debate across the African continent and with its global partners, the Urban 2063 Coalition produced eight policy briefs on a series of closely linked topics.
The challenge
The status quo
Africa remains marginalised in the global economy, despite the facts that a large share of critical minerals needed for the clean technology revolution are located here, and that the African labour force is expected to account for nearly half of the global one by 2050. Deep historical and contemporary political economy factors reproduce Africa’s marginalisation.
Agenda 2063 is a powerful framework, produced by Africans, that sets a course to reverse historical injustices and lays down the stepping stones for a creative era of invention, value addition, and autonomy. Cities, as the epicentre of knowledge, capital, infrastructure, and cultural assets, must become the engine room of practical policies and investments towards achieving Agenda 2063. However, most African Union member states are not yet ready to take the necessary steps to truly empower their cities and unleash their full potential.
This is why Urban2063 exists as a dynamic advocacy platform to apply pressure on the Pan-African policy system to overcome denialism.
The challenge
Amplifying sustainable urbanisation in Africa
Since the adoption of Agenda 2063 in 2015, there has been a notable improvement among African member states in addressing urbanisation as a critical policy issue. The preparation of the Common African Position for Habitat III was a significant milestone in achieving policy coherence. The reality check is that only nine African member states have ratified The African Charter on the Values and Principles of Decentralisation, Local Governance and Local Development, developed by the African Union in 2014. It promotes substantive democratic devolution. This reticence is a policy dissonance that is preventing the enactment of deep reforms that will promote sustainable urbanisation. The immediate macro policy imperative is to promote a novel architecture of aligned planning and investment frameworks. Specifically, all African countries, along with their global peers, are updating their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in 2025 in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. These NDCs should be linked to National Urban Policies (NUPs) as required by the New Urban Agenda of 2016. The connective tissue between the two policy agendas should be an integrated infrastructure investment framework rooted in a spatial analysis of the national and regional context, informed by the imperatives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). It is this policy clarity that will generate an appropriate portfolio of investable sustainable infrastructure projects that can be aggregated into Country Platforms being developed in Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, among others.
This policy approach needs to be refined, concretised, and financed through the agreements shaped in key pan-African policy arenas, such as the Africa Climate Week, the Urban20 Summit, the Africa Urban Forum, and upcoming COP engagements. Urban2063 is positioned to advance these strategic opportunities for building a pan-African narrative around sustainable urbanisation opportunities.