African Development Bank Group to free up significant additional resources for low-income countries – Adesina | African Development Bank

The Board of Governors of the African Development Bank Group has approved management’s request to leverage the equity capital of the African Development Fund to mobilize more resources in the capital markets. The Fund is the Bank’s concessional credit counter.

“When fully implemented, the Bank Group can release up to $27 billion to help low-income and fragile states,” said Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, president of the Bank Group, Friday.

“This means that when this launches, we could raise another $4 billion or even more per cycle [every three years] for these least developed, low-income countries,” said Adesina at the official closing ceremony of the 2023 Bank Group annual meetings in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

With nearly half of recipient countries classified as fragile states, the African Development Fund contributes to poverty reduction and socio-economic development in those countries by providing concessional financing for their projects and programs. Nine of the world’s ten most vulnerable countries to climate change are in Sub-Saharan Africa and depend on the Fund’s resources.

In a statement at the end of the meetings, the Bank’s presidents stressed the need for substantial financial resources to support climate adaptation in Africa. This should include fulfilling the commitment of rich countries to mobilize $100 billion annually in climate finance for developing countries.

“We call for urgent action to double the collective provision of climate finance for adaptation, and the operationalization of new financing arrangements to respond to loss and damage following decisions of the Conferences of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Conference of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, the last sessions of which were held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.”

The Bank dedicated this year’s annual meetings to ‘Mobilizing private sector finance for climate and green growth’. The event gathered African leaders, development partners and researchers to find practical solutions for raising climate finance, including harnessing the continent’s natural capital.

Opening the 5-day rallies on Tuesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called for “creative solutions” to the complex challenges facing countries, especially those in Africa.

Other dignitaries included the President of the Union of the Comoros and African Union President Azali Assoumani; Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Vice President of Tanzania Philip Mpango.

In addition to the statutory meetings, the bank’s annual meetings included a presidential dialogue and three thematic knowledge sessions. Highlights included the launch of the Bank Group’s flagship African Economic Outlook Report 2023, a unique Africa Day celebration commemorating the 60th anniversary of the African Union and a roundtable discussion on eliminating the delinquent debt of Zimbabwe. “It’s time to put the pain of sanctions behind us by discussing real issues to heal the wounds in Zimbabwe,” Adesina said at the closing press conference.

He said the 2023 annual meetings were a great success and shareholders recognized that the bank was crucial to unleashing Africa’s potential.

He stated: “Let’s leave Sharm El-Sheikh with greater commitment. A greater commitment to working together. A greater commitment to building a more resilient Africa.”

During the closing ceremony, the chairmanship of the Boards of Directors was handed over to the Kenyan Minister of Finance, Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u. Kenya will host the 2024 annual meetings.

In his acceptance speech, Prof. Ndung’u said Kenya will build on Sharm El Sheikh’s success.