AfDB Launches Pan-African Finance Platform to Bridge Funding Gaps
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) is moving to establish a landmark Pan-African Financial Coordination Platform aimed at improving collaboration among the continent’s financial institutions and accelerating the deployment of development finance.
AfDB President Dr Sidi Ould Tah convened leaders of regional development finance institutions (DFIs) and private-sector partners at the Bank’s headquarters in Abidjan on 19 November. The meeting followed earlier engagements with heads of African securities exchanges, as part of broader consultations to design the new platform.
Dr Ould Tah underscored the urgency of a more coordinated approach: “Our countries require vast resources. A renewed partnership framework, built with you, will help meet those needs.”
The platform is expected to streamline Africa’s development finance ecosystem through shared project pipelines, harmonised technical standards, and coordinated implementation schedules.
DFIs, he stressed, are vital partners given their deep local presence and ability to respond to national and regional development priorities.
Leaders of major DFIs, including the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, the Eastern & Southern African Trade & Development Bank, the West African Development Bank, Africa Finance Corporation, and Shelter Afrique welcomed the initiative.
They highlighted key priorities such as strengthening equity, improving liquidity, boosting access to affordable financing, and reducing duplication of efforts. Several speakers emphasised the importance of leveraging the AfDB’s AAA credit rating to create guarantees and blended-finance instruments that would lower costs for regional DFIs.
Representatives also called for joint advocacy, improved visibility of Africa’s development agenda, and collective engagement at high-level global forums.
Summarising the session, Dr Ould Tah announced the formation of a task force to refine proposals on derisking, equity enhancement, concessional lending, and liquidity mechanisms for DFIs.
He also confirmed upcoming engagements with private-sector stakeholders and credit rating agencies in London, following the ADF-17 replenishment meeting in mid-December.
The proposed Pan-African Financial Coordination Platform is expected to play a central role in bridging Africa’s financing gap and ensuring the continent’s development institutions work more cohesively to deliver large-scale, transformative projects.
