COP27: Spain, Swiss Confederation announce EUR 10 million support for the Urban and Municipal Development Fund of the African Development Bank Group | African Development Bank

In collaboration with the African Development Bank Group, the Swiss Confederation through the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and Spain today announced additional financial support at COP 27 for African countries and cities most affected by climate change.

Switzerland and Spain have confirmed that they will each donate approximately €5 million to the African Development Bank Group’s Urban and Municipal Development Fund (UMDF), a thematic trust fund that helps vulnerable African countries to promote just green and climate-resilient urbanisation.

Africa is expected to experience the fastest urban growth in the world – at about 3.2 percent per year. By 2050, about 1.5 billion people are expected to live in Africa’s cities – an additional urban population of 900 million people. At the same time, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, African countries remain the most vulnerable to climate change and least prepared for its impacts.

Commenting on the announcement, Ambassador Dominique Paravicini, the SECO’s Head of Economic Cooperation and Development and the Swiss Governor of the African Development Bank confirmed that Switzerland recognizes the importance of cities for economic development and their impact on and vulnerability to climate change.

“Following the successful establishment of the African Cities Program, the Urban and Municipal Development Fund should now be enabled to scale up its valuable support to more cities across the African continent. SECO therefore increases its contribution by CHF 4.9 million. Apart is intended for cities in emerging economies such as Egypt, Ghana and South Africa. Switzerland expects its contribution to have a catalytic effect on other potential donors to increase contributions to the fund,” he said.

Ramón López Pérez, Senior Climate Finance Adviser at the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Digital Transformation, said: “Spain recognizes the important role the African Development Bank Group plays in promoting economic and social progress in Africa. In times of uncertainty and despite the current general budget constraints due to the extraordinary expenditures resulting from the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this new contribution confirms Spain’s strong support for the AfDB.”

Mike Salawou, Director of the Infrastructure and Urban Development Department of the African Development Bank Group, thanked the partners for their support: “The support from the governments of Switzerland and Spain is precious. This additional budget will boost UMDF activities, enabling us to support better urban governance and planning and ensure that partner cities develop in a sustainable and climate-optimised way.”

About UMDF:

Established in 2019, the UMDF is a trust fund established by the African Development Bank to work upstream with African municipalities, local and national authorities by consolidating investment action plans and accelerating project identification and preparation (pre-investment activities). It also offers capacity building and mentoring programs. The Fund’s strategy is strongly anchored in the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.