The UNDP has expanded its narrative from “poverty eradication” to what Ahunna Eziakonwa, the UN's assistant secretary-general, calls “promoting prosperity,” combining the usual public investments in schools, hospitals and natural-resource management with new pushes to draw in private money and tap the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). “Infrastructure alone is worthless without human capital,” says Eziakonwa, who began her role as UNDP's regional director for Africa in August 2018. She manages programs in 46 countries and oversees an annual funding of over 1.2 billion dollars, guiding her work through overlapping crises, from climate shocks that threaten harvests to health setbacks that stall gains against poverty, while a drift toward authoritarian rule adds pressure.

The agency’s biggest bet is on Africa’s emerging tech hubs. Timbuktoo, a facility launched in 2024 with three million dollars but a target of one billion dollars in resources over 10 years, has already handed out 30 million dollars to university-based innovation centres in 11 countries. Those funds have backed 160 start-ups and helped attract additional pledges, including Gabon’s 200 million dollars for community development and the DR Congo’s 600 million dollars commitment. A smaller Manutech pilot in Addis Abeba has invested six million dollars in ventures, three-quarters of which were founded by women, while early grants to pan-African artificial-intelligence institutes demonstrate the same focus on “anticipatory” crisis prevention linked to growth.

“Success is often invisible,” Eziakonwa told Tamrat G. Giorgis, our managing editor, in an exclusive interview held last week. "If cooperation holds and trust is built, these early seeds can still grow into broad prosperity."

Fortune: The UN, in general, and the UNDP's Africa mandate is to eradicate poverty while keeping the planet safe. And that is to provide people “life in freedom from want and freedom from fear,” without having or reducing violence. But do you feel like the world has reached a point where you are doing these things against all odds because of climate shock, which should not be controversial, but it is? and there is also a backslide into authoritarianism across the world? In this environment, do you feel you are trying to do that against the tide?

Ahunna Eziakonwa: I think that would be a fair statement because the world is awash in crises today. Those crises are interdependent. Food security depends on climate stability, and health disruptions affect poverty reduction and development. We face multiple, borderless shocks, none confined to a single country or region, while the multilateral system designed to unite us is under strain. As UNDP, we are certainly operating in one of our most challenging eras for driving the development agenda, with geopolitics often working against progress. These are truly unique historical moments.

Q: I remember when we had a discussion last time, you had an idea of an engagement with the African Union (AU) and regional institutions like IGAD, trying to have a deeper engagement in that response. Have you succeeded in that, in pushing the UNDP from its advisory role into becoming a catalyst for change?

Catalysing regional bodies has been central to our new four-year strategic plan, which we finalised after extensive consultations. We've reframed our narrative from only 'poverty eradication' to 'promoting prosperity' because the language we use shapes our mindset.

"We've reframed our narrative from only 'poverty eradication' to 'promoting prosperity' because the language we use shapes our mindset."

Talking prosperity energises stakeholders around initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which is essential for Africa’s development. We have ramped up advocacy and programming behind AfCFTA, identifying and tackling implementation barriers to unlock intra-African markets. Through policy support, secretariat partnerships, and national-level engagement, we are helping to fast-track the AfCFTA to boost productivity, sustainability, and industrialisation.

Q: There is an ideological debate over the poverty lens, placing responsibility on structural and societal factors, implying the state must aid individuals. Contrary to this, the prosperity lens places responsibility on individuals, implying the state’s role is merely to showcase what is possible and affluence. How do you reconcile these?

That interpretation of prosperity is not ours. Everywhere true prosperity has occurred, the state has played a central role alongside private capital. You need infrastructure such as roads and bridges, yes, but infrastructure alone is worthless without human capital.

Countries that triumphed over extreme poverty, from South Korea, Singapore to Malaysia, and China, invested heavily in education and health first. The state must finance and oversee these systems. It must govern natural resources so that benefits reach the population. Prosperity arises from a partnership between developmental states and private enterprise, not an either/or.

Q: Critics argue that a prosperity-oriented state may prioritise vanity projects, such as fountains and showpiece roads, over schools and hospitals. How do you respond?

The value of infrastructure is realised only when people can use it. You can build roads to nowhere if communities lack the skills or resources to leverage them effectively. That is why human capital comes first—productivity, like who produces what, depends on skilled labour. Without investment in people, infrastructure becomes a white elephant. Evidence from Asia shows that you have build people’s capabilities before infrastructure.

Q: Your annual portfolio in Africa is about 1.2 billion dollars, covering 46 countries. When geopolitics comes in the way of consensus at the UN, how do you prioritise where to allocate scarce funds?

We reject the notion of doing less with less. Development needs are rising, and we have to find ways to crowd in resources. At the Financing for Development Conference [held in Spain in July 2025], we pushed continually on financing for development, highlighting social protection, climate finance, and fair cost of capital.

It is intolerable that countries bearing the brunt of climate change are forced to pay more to borrow. We argued that security is built on development, and investing in human solidarity counters extremism. Under South Africa’s G20 presidency, themes of sustainability, equality, and solidarity gained ground. There is enough money globally; the question is one of political will and priorities.

“We face multiple, borderless shocks, none confined to a single country or region, while the multilateral system designed to unite us is under strain.”

Q: Last time we spoke, you mentioned Senegal’s pledge of 200 million dollars in cofinancing, which had not yet scaled up.

It is scaling. Since we last spoke, Gabon has committed 200 million dollars for a similar integrated community development programme; the DRC has committed 600 million dollars to bridge the development deficit in remote areas.

Our principle is “no one left behind.” People living in peripheries cannot be excluded without risking violent extremism. We advocate that countries utilise existing resources more intelligently, tap innovative financing options  such as green bonds and climate swaps and better leverage their natural resources.

Q: Let’s discuss Timbuktoo. Launched in 2024 with three million dollars pledged and a target of one billion dollars over 10 years, it has reportedly raised only two percent so far.

Timbuktoo is more than a financial envelope. It is an ecosystem support facility that transforms mindsets to recognise African talent and innovation. It raises confidence and builds connections between public, private, and academic sectors.

We have initiated university innovation ports in 11 countries (26 by the year’s end), each with over one million dollars in investment from core and partner funds. We have already deployed more than 30 million dollars to infrastructure, mentorship, and policy units. The one billion dollars target is catalytic: 300 million dollars builds ecosystems and derisks investments, unlocking the remaining 650 million dollars in venture capital.