Review 2022: Confidence in the African Development Bank is increasing! | African Development Bank

2022 was a year of renewed confidence in the African Development Bank Group. Contributing countries mobilized and contributed $8.9 billion to supplement the African Development Fund under ADF-16. In addition, they acceded to the request of senior management of the banking group to create a dedicated climate action window under ADF-16.

Japan, Norway, Portugal, Spain, the Swiss Confederation, Germany and the Global Energy Alliance provide significant financial support to the Bank to finance sectors vital to development. Whether boosting renewable energy, fighting climate change, promoting the Lusophone Pact or developing the agricultural sector, their commitment is exceptional, testifying to the increased confidence of shareholders in the Bank’s efforts to promote the development of the continent.

The board of directors, led by the Bank’s president, Akinwumi Adesina, in turn took seriously the looming threat of food crises and social crises in African countries in the aftermath of the Russian war in Ukraine. The board quickly set up a $1.5 billion African emergency food production facility and committed $1.3 billion to this goal in less than two weeks. This year, Dr. Adesina also had the opportunity to witness the impact of the Bank’s work on the ground. He made working visits to various countries across the continent; Morocco, Cape Verde, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania and Mauritania, among others, where he saw firsthand the results of the Bank’s life-changing intervention in these countries and especially on the beneficiary populations.

Below is a snapshot of the African Development Bank Group’s work in 2022.

January

Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, visited the $19.5 billion Dangote Industries Limited Crude Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Production Plant in Lagos, Nigeria.

In Senegal, President Adesina was received by the head of state Macky Sall. Dr. Adesina visited bank-financed projects such as the Dakar-Diamniadio regional express train. He announced support for the Louis Pasteur Referral Laboratory, which will soon begin production of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines for Covid-19 and other diseases.

February

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group approved $379.6 million to fund the Desert to Power Facility for G5 Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger).

African Development Bank Group President Akinwumi Adesina joins Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan at the official start of construction of the historic Dodoma City Outer Ring Road Project.

March

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a new strategy to address vulnerability and build resilience in Africa for the period 2022-2026. The strategy proposes a five-year roadmap to build more resilient institutions, economies and societies across the continent.

American basketball giant and eight-time NBA All-Star Dikembe Mutombo and African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina, along with former legendary Ivorian soccer team captain Didier Drogba, have inaugurated a premier sports facility for young orphans in Bingerville, Cote Ivory

April

President Akinwumi Adesina visited the United Arab Emirates. During the three-day visit, several pledges were made in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The African Development Bank Group signed a protocol agreement with the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to support the implementation of the Pan-African Organization’s Agenda 2063.

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The African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional counter, marked the milestone of 50 years of action and achievement in Africa’s most vulnerable countries. Organized as part of the Group’s annual meetings, this opportunity brought beneficiaries and donors together to discuss the Fund’s impact and performance.

The Bank Group’s 2022 Annual Meetings took place in Accra, Ghana, with the theme: “Promoting Climate Resilience and a Just Energy Transition in Africa”.

Annual Meetings 2022: Speech by the AfDB President at the Closing Ceremony

In Abidjan, the banking group’s board of directors approved the creation of the $1.5 billion African Emergency Food Production Facility to help African countries avert a looming food crisis that could result from Russia’s war in Ukraine.

June-

US President Joe Biden announced his support for the African Development Bank’s initiative to significantly increase food production in Africa to avert the looming food crisis that could result from the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The Bank’s Board of Directors has approved the establishment of the African Foundation for Pharmaceutical Technology. This pioneering organization will significantly expand Africa’s access to the technologies that underpin the manufacture of medicines, vaccines and other pharmaceutical products.

The African Development Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank have signed a pact to strengthen their cooperation.

July

Akinwumi Adesina, president of the banking group, assured American investors gathered in Marrakech for the US-Africa Business Summit: “Africa is a safe, competitive and profitable market.”

Global credit rating agency Fitch Ratings affirmed the African Development Bank’s “AAA” long-term credit rating with a stable outlook. This confirmation is a recognition of the Bank’s strong financial profile and the strong support of its shareholders.

Publish what you fund, the global aid transparency organization, recognized the African Development Bank as the most transparent organization in the world.

The bank’s board of directors approved a EUR 121 million loan to Senegal to implement an emergency farming program for 850,000 small-scale producers. It was the first approval under the African Emergency Food Production Facility deployment.

August

Japan and the African Development Bank announced financial cooperation, which could amount to $5 billion, under 5^e phase of the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance Initiative in Africa, for 2023-2025. They made the announcement in Tunis on the sidelines of the 8^e International Conference on African Development in Tokyo (TICAD8).

The largest American organization of African-American journalists and media professionals honored the African Development Bank with the Tribute to Excellence Award for his Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) initiative.

September

The Egyptian government and the African Development Bank Group have signed a protocol agreement to host the annual meetings of the Bank Group in May 2023.

The African Development Bank, rated “AAA” by the world’s leading rating agencies (Moody’s, S&P, Fitch and Japan Credit Rating) with a stable outlook, has issued a $100 million thematic bond maturing in September 2029.

The Nigerian Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari, and the President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina, urged international companies and policymakers to invest in Nigeria while in New York.

Adesina, president of the banking group, paid an official visit to Mauritania to “give new impetus” to the bank’s partnership with the country: “We stand with Mauritania to support the increase in capacity and reach of its prolific sectors such as wheat, red meat, fishing and mining.”

October

The African Development Bank and its partners have launched the $520 million Nigerian Special Agri-business Processing Zones program. The initiative will contribute to the modernization of agriculture and the development of agribusiness in the most populous African country. Eleven countries across Africa are implementing the programme.

On the occasion of the Finance in Common Summit, organized in Abidjan, the first time in Africa, five new public development banks – the Development Bank of Latin America, the Development Bank of Rwanda, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti – Italian Investment Bank, the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency and the Netherlands Development Finance Corporation – signed the Paris Declaration on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment.

Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, was named “African Man of the Year 2022” by Exclusive Men of the Year, in recognition of his leadership and vision at the helm of the bank, in addition to his outstanding commitment to Africa during his tenure as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture.

November

The Africa Industrialization Index report, published by the African Development Bank, the African Union and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, showed that 37 out of 52 African countries have increased their level of industrialization over the past 11 years.

At the COP-27 in Egypt, Germany pledged 40 million euros to the Climate Action Window of the bank for fragile African states.

The “Market Days” of the Africa Investment Forum – the continent’s leading investment platform – generated $31 billion in interest from African and international investors.

December

After a year of intense negotiations amid challenging global economic prospects, the African Development Fund’s development partners agreed to pledge a total of $8.9 billion for the 2023-2025 funding cycle. The committed amount is the largest addition in the history of the Fund.

Opening Video ADF 16th Addition Commitment Meeting