The African Development Bank’s concessional financing arm mobilised a record $11 billion from 43 Partners in its 17th (ADF-17), an amount the multilateral lender said signals confidence in the continent’s development prospects.
The African Development Bank’s concessional financing arm mobilised a record $11 billion from 43 Partners in its 17th (ADF-17), an amount the multilateral lender said signals confidence in the continent’s development prospects.
“This is not just a replenishment,” said Dr Sidi Ould Tah, President of the African Development Bank Group. “It is a turning point. In one of the most difficult global environments for development finance, our partners chose ambition over retrenchment, and investment over inertia.”
The funding includes as much as $2 billion from the OPEC Fund for International Development and up to $800 million from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the lender said.
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For the first time in the Fund’s history, 23 African countries have made unprecedented contributions to their own concessional financing window.
A total of $182.7 million was pledged by African countries, with 19 countries contributing for the first time, alongside long-standing regional contributors. This represents a fivefold increase compared to the previous replenishment.
Fund for energy, food, and infrastructure
Resources mobilised under ADF-17 will be directed toward 37 low-income and fragile African countries, prioritising the expansion of energy access, the strengthening of food systems and food security, increased investment in human capital, the advancement of regional integration and trade, and the development of resilient infrastructure.
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Targeted assistance will also continue for countries facing heightened fragility and vulnerability, including through the Transition Support Facility.
