By Obinna Uballa
United Bank for Africa (UBA) has expressed strong support for Chad’s $30 billion Tchad Connexion 2030 development blueprint, describing it as a bold and actionable roadmap for transforming the country’s economic landscape.
The assurance was given during the UAE-Chad Trade and Investment Forum held in Abu Dhabi on Monday, where government officials, development financiers and private sector leaders gathered to discuss new models for financing African competitiveness.
Delivering his keynote address at the event, UBA Group Managing Director, Mr. Oliver Alawuba said Africa had moved beyond conversations of unrealised potential and was now firmly in what he called the “era of execution.”
He commended the Chadian government for outlining a clear, investment-ready programme to expand power supply, water access, agriculture and industrial capacity, arguing that such strategic clarity is essential to attracting capital.
The Tchad Connexion 2030 plan, which outlines 268 projects, aims to raise electrification rates to 60 percent and extend safe water access to 11 million more citizens, while driving industrial growth and job creation.
Alawuba emphasised that the success of such a plan depends on bridging the financing gap through structured collaboration among African banks, global investors and development partners. He noted that Africa possesses significant liquidity within its own financial system, but much of it remains under-deployed because of limited project structuring and risk-mitigation frameworks.
He highlighted UBA’s record in financing major infrastructure across the continent, including large-scale power generation, refinery development and national transport upgrades, as evidence of the bank’s capacity to mobilise and structure capital for transformative projects.
Alawuba also underscored the bank’s existing footprint in Chad, where it has committed more than $102 million across sovereign financing, domestic gas supply, renewable power and transport improvement initiatives.
He further stressed that economic competitiveness must be built inclusively, extending financial services and capital beyond capital cities to small businesses, agricultural producers and regional commercial centres.
Alawuba pointed to the bank’s presence in remote regions of multiple African countries as proof of a model that supports both national-scale infrastructure and grassroots enterprise development.
Describing the UAE as a vital partner with deep expertise in renewable energy, industrial development and investment structuring, Alawuba said Chad’s development plan offers a platform for meaningful collaboration that can attract long-term capital and generate sustainable growth.
He added that development finance institutions such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank remain key to providing guarantees and blended finance instruments that reduce project risk and crowd in global investors.
Quoting the founding father of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, on the importance of collective effort in the face of shared challenges, Alawuba called for coordinated action among governments, private investors and development institutions to deliver results that translate strategy into improved livelihoods.
“Chad has extended an invitation to the world to build with it,” he said. “UBA is not only accepting that invitation; we are already contributing. We are committed to serving as a financial engine and trusted partner in turning this vision into reality.”
