AfDB and UK Deepen Partnership to Mobilise Capital for Africa’s Investment-Led Growth
The African Development Bank Group and the United Kingdom have intensified their partnership aimed at mobilising large-scale capital to support investment-led growth across Africa, focusing on infrastructure, energy, and private sector development.
The collaboration aligns with the African Development Bank Group’s strategic priorities of expanding access to finance and strengthening financial systems across the continent, particularly through the mobilisation of concessional finance to unlock additional private investment.
Africa’s growing economic importance was highlighted, with the continent holding around 30 per cent of the world’s known mineral reserves and more than 60 per cent of global solar potential, positioning it as a key player in the global energy transition and industrial development.
Speaking at the Africa Private Capital Mobilisation Day in London, African Development Bank Group President Dr Sidi Ould Tah said there was a need to move from fragmented efforts to coordinated investment platforms capable of scaling capital flows across the continent.
“We must move from fragmented efforts to coordinated platforms that can mobilise capital at scale, and connect investment to opportunity across the continent,” Dr Tah said.
The event brought together development finance institutions, export credit agencies and global investors, resulting in the adoption of the London Communiqué, a shared framework aimed at expanding private capital mobilisation and investment pipelines in key sectors.
The United Kingdom has committed significant financial support to African development initiatives, including a GBP 603.7 million pledge to the African Development Fund during its seventeenth replenishment session, which collectively raised USD 11 billion for low-income and fragile African countries.
Baroness Jenny Chapman, UK Minister of State for International Development and Africa, said the partnership is focused on growth, investment and reform.
“We are partners, investors, and, most of all, reformers. We want growth to be at the heart of our partnership,” she said.
The UK is also channeling investment through institutions such as British International Investment and UK Export Finance into sectors including energy, infrastructure and private enterprise, complementing African Development Bank initiatives.
The partnership supports wider goals such as strengthening domestic capital markets, enhancing regional value chains, and advancing the African Continental Free Trade Area to boost intra-African trade and economic integration.
The United Kingdom remains a long-standing partner of the African Development Bank Group, having been a member since 1983 and a contributor to the African Development Fund since 1973.
As the UK prepares for its G20 Presidency in 2027, both parties say the focus will remain on deepening cooperation to mobilise capital at scale and align global investment with Africa’s long-term development priorities.
