01
Setting priorities
We support city leadership in selecting projects that respond to the greatest demand, can command political backing, have the support of community members and have a plausible route to delivery.
What We Do
We work alongside city governments through the stages where projects most often stall, until a city priority becomes a project ready for investment.
The project cycle
The city leads at every stage.
At every stage the project belongs to the city. What changes is the support Cities Africa provides along the way.
- 01Identify needs
- 02Set priorities
- 03Define and prepare the project
- 04Secure approvals and support
- 05Establish a route to funding
- 06Secure finance
- 07Procure
- 08Build and deliver
- 09Operate and monitor
- City-led, with selective support
- Cities Africa core work
- Led by financiers, contractors and operators
Areas of support
Shaped around what is holding each project back.
No two projects stall for the same reason, so we do not arrive with a fixed package.
02
Defining and preparing the project
A clear priority is only the beginning. To attract investment, it must become a well-defined project, backed by evidence that it is needed, a sound choice of approach and the technical work to show it will succeed.
03
Securing approvals and support
Most city projects depend on approvals, agreements and support from national ministries, utilities, regulators and other public bodies. From the outset, we work with the city to map who owns each decision and what could stand in the way.
04
Finding a realistic route to funding
Funding needs to be considered from the very beginning, not left until the design is complete. The result is a funding case that belongs to the city.
What a city is left with
Every engagement leaves something lasting behind.
A stronger, better-prepared priority project, with clear next steps and a realistic funding route.
A working project or investment team, with staff who have taken a priority project through preparation themselves.
Practical tools, templates and routines embedded in the city’s own systems.
Stronger working relationships with the national institutions, partners and communities its projects depend on.
Our principles
African cities set the direction
African cities define their own priorities, retain decision-making ownership, and lead the choices that shape their future and create meaningful public value.
External support builds lasting city capability
Every engagement leaves behind stronger staff, routines, data systems and institutional responsibilities.
Tools serve public purpose
Financing structures and technical tools are shaped around city priorities and resident outcomes, rather than becoming ends in themselves.
African cities learn together
We draw on African and global expertise, and share lessons from implementation so that each engagement contributes to a stronger African urban ecosystem.
Holistic approach
We work across the full project journey, bringing together the technical, institutional, stakeholder and financing dimensions needed for progress.
Built for complexity
We recognize that urban projects sit within complex systems of institutions, mandates and decisions, and we are designed to work across those interdependencies.
Where we will start
Champion Cities first, then many more.
Cities Africa will begin selectively, with three to four cities and a focused set of priority projects in each. Over time, we will extend our support to more cities, particularly secondary and intermediary cities.
- 01
Substantial need
A meaningful gap between the city’s priorities and the projects ready to address them, where we can make a difference.
- 02
Political will
City leaders who are prepared to champion the project, dedicate staff and time to it, and make the necessary decisions.
- 03
A city team ready to lead
A credible city team with the authority and time to work alongside us.