What does it take to build infrastructure that is not only functional but sustainable, efficient, and fit for the future? This strategic question drove Enabel's recent East Africa Infrastructure Hub workshop in Kigoma, Tanzania, held from March 10 to 12, 2026. Bringing together 30 colleagues from Belgium, Uganda, DRC Congo, Rwanda, Mozambique and Burundi. The event provided a space for practical reflection, peer learning, and collaborative problem-solving to improve infrastructure delivery.

The workshop revealed a critical insight: infrastructure must no longer be treated as a purely technical or construction-focused function. To deliver long-term value, it must be understood as a strategic intervention at the intersection of sustainability, service delivery, economic opportunity, and institutional capacity.

Sustainability emerged as the strongest priority across discussions and participant surveys. However, participants were clear that sustainable practices must move from aspiration to operational reality. This requires the systematic adoption of EDGE certification for all buildings, greater use of tools to compare materials, and stronger capacity in sustainable construction practices. Importantly, the conversation is shifting beyond minimizing negative impacts to actively improving local ecosystems and communities. Infrastructure can be designed not only to reduce harm but to regenerate landscapes, enhance biodiversity, and strengthen social resilience. This regenerative approach positions the InfraHub for the next level of ambition. Crucially, infrastructure expertise must be integrated at the earliest stages of project formulation, including human resources planning and programme design, rather than entering the conversation only during construction.

Equally important is the need to transition toward more holistic operational models. Infrastructure delivery must expand beyond engineering to encompass legal, financial, and business considerations, such as public-private partnerships and climate finance. Social and participatory approaches, alongside diverse expertise and local partners, are essential for creating systemic and multidisciplinary delivery models that respond to increasingly complex realities.  

Procurement emerged as a central challenge. While fundamental to infrastructure delivery, significant gaps remain in country-level understanding of these processes. Participants called for targeted training, stronger onboarding, and a collaborative approach to improve both compliance and efficiency. Building local capacity and strengthening national systems, including certification mechanisms for sustainable materials, is equally vital for ensuring long-term ownership and impact beyond project timelines.

Communication also surfaced as a strategic requirement, not simply a visibility need. Participants stressed the importance of improving how infrastructure is communicated both internally and externally, positioning it as a development tool with measurable social, economic, and environmental value. This must be coupled with enhanced day-to-day coordination between teams and countries.

The workshop reinforced the value of practical, experience-based learning and cross-country collaboration. The East Africa Infrastructure Hub is increasingly recognized not just as an exchange platform but as a mechanism for project development and collective problem-solving. Participants highlighted strong interest in sharing practical lessons across contexts and called for stronger collaboration on areas such as grants, sustainability, and implementation models.

Yet translating these priorities into structured actions requires stronger ownership and follow-through, particularly regarding communication strategies and alignment with broader Enabel objectives like corridor development. The challenge now is not identifying what matters, but building the systems and accountability to act on it.  

What emerged from the workshop is a clearer direction for how Enabel can approach infrastructure differently: more integrated in design, more practical in implementation, more collaborative across countries, and more deliberate in building sustainability into decisions from the start. If infrastructure is to remain a meaningful driver of development, it must be shaped with greater intention. This workshop marked an important step in that direction.

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