Since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in early 2020, African Governments have announced fiscal stimulus packages ranging in cost from 0.02 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in South Sudan to 10.4 per cent of GDP in South Africa.1 Those fiscal stimulus measures have had an immediate and direct impact on budgetary balances, borrowing needs and debt levels. At the same time, the continent is still racing to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, of the African Union. Innovative financing and capital markets are playing an ever-greaterrole as an essential component of sustainable economic growth. A welldeveloped capital market facilitates the efficient allocation of capital in an economy, which is necessary for sustainable economic growth and development. In addition to capital-market development, leveraging other innovative means and actors to finance recovery from the crisis will be equally important. Sovereign wealth funds, and strategic development funds in particular, are intended to transform national economies through the mobilization of domestic and international private capital to finance infrastructure and other transformative projects. Such funding sources can provide Governments with powerful leverage in accelerating recovery in Africa.