The 8th President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, has disclosed that the AFDB’s development partners of the African Development Fund have agreed to commit $8.9 billion to its 2023 to 2025 financing cycle.

Adesina, a former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for Nigeria, made this public on his official Twitter page and the bank’s official website following the conclusion of the fourth and final meetings of the 16th Replenishment of the African Development Fund on the 5th and 6th of December in Tangier, Morocco.  

The African Development Fund, ADF, is the concessional window of the African Development Bank Group that provides grants and soft loans to the continent’s low-income countries. It contributes to poverty reduction and economic and social development by funding projects and programs and giving technical assistance for studies and capacity-building activities.

After a year of intense negotiations, the $8.9 billion replenishment package, which breaks a 50-year record as the ADF celebrates its 50th anniversary, includes $8.5 billion in core ADF funding and $429 million for the newly created Climate Action Window.

The Fund, called ADF-16, is a 14.24 percent increase over ADF-15 of $7.4 billion and would go a long way in tackling the continent’s multiple development needs, like recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, effects of climate change, fragility, debt, and economic vulnerabilities.  

According to the bank, the ADF-16 saw Algeria and Morocco contribute for the first time, joining Angola, Egypt, and South Africa on the list of contributing African countries. The contributions will develop sustainable, climate-resilient and quality infrastructure. The ADF-16 will aid governance, capacity building and sustainable debt management in recipient countries. The Fund will also focus on empowering women and girls as a condition for achieving inclusive and sustainable development.

Over the next three years, the ADF-16 replenishment will help connect 20 million people to electricity and improve agricultural benefits for 24 million people. Just as 32 million people will get better access to water and sanitation, 15 million people will also get improved access to transport. 

President Adesina, in his speech, said, “I am impressed by the considerable commitment and efforts of the ADF donor countries in stepping up support for Africa’s low-income countries, especially at this time of significant economic, climate and fiscal challenges. It is the power of global partnerships and effective multilateralism in support of Africa.

“These are impressive development impacts. These expected impacts of the ADF will advance the Sustainable Development Goals and the Agenda 2063 of the African Union. They will allow the African Development Fund to build on its reputation of being ranked the second-best concessional financing institution in the world. We will deliver more, better, efficiently and in partnerships with bilateral and multilateral partners. We will foster a climate-smart, resilient, inclusive, and integrated Africa.

“African low-income countries are the most vulnerable and least prepared to tackle climate change. The Climate Action Window and the commitment to provide 40 percent of the core financing of the ADF-16 replenishment towards climate finance will help to build climate resilience in Africa,” Adesina enthused.

In the past five years, the ADF has helped connect 15.5 million people to electricity, 74 million people to improved agriculture, 42 million to water and sanitation, and 50 million to improved transport. The Fund is also helping to build and rehabilitate 8,700 kilometers of roads.