The Islamic Ummah in Africa as a new arena of geopolitical competition: Muslim sub-dynamics shape parallel projects of influence on the continent

On May 19, 2025, the 50th Annual Meetings of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group opened in Algiers, bringing together finance and economy ministers from all 57 member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

On the first day, the Bank’s Board of Directors approved a $1.32 billion financing package, of which $665.8 million was allocated to seven African countries for the modernization of transport corridors in the Sahel, healthcare infrastructure in the Horn of Africa, and the development of rice production in Côte d’Ivoire.

In parallel, the African Development Bank and the IsDB signed a strategic partnership to address state fragility, establishing a framework for coordinating Islamic and multilateral capital until 2030.

This institutionalizes a new level of “financial ummah,” which claims the role of a leading driver of the continent’s infrastructural and humanitarian transformation — at a time when Western aid is being reduced and Chinese loans are losing appeal due to their political implications.