AfDB Appoints Société Générale as Lead Adviser for New Synthetic Securitisation Platform
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has appointed Société Générale as Lead Adviser for the development and execution of its new Multi-Originator Synthetic Securitisation Platform (SST Platform), marking a significant step in the Bank’s efforts to scale private capital mobilisation and strengthen financial resilience across the continent.
The agreement was signed on 26 November during the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) Market Days 2025 in Rabat, Morocco, by AfDB Division Manager Nana Spio-Garbrah and Société Générale Senior Adviser Pascale Olivié.
The SST Platform, which follows three earlier transactions under the Bank’s successful Room to Run (R2R) initiative, is designed as a revolving and scalable risk-transfer vehicle. It will provide development finance institutions with regulatory capital relief, improved balance sheet flexibility, and enhanced opportunities to attract large-scale private investment.
Société Générale, recognised for its strong track record in significant risk transfer (SRT) structures, will lead the design and structuring of the platform, offering financial modelling and preparing investor engagement materials ahead of the platform’s launch.
The first phase of the SST Platform targets a reference portfolio of approximately USD 2 billion. It will include assets spanning various sectors, geographies and risk levels, initially contributed by the African Development Bank and the Development Bank of Southern Africa, with the possibility of additional institutions joining.
Over time, the platform aims to introduce harmonised issuance documentation, standardised credit assessment methods, and a shared Special Purpose Vehicle framework to encourage wider participation by African and global development finance institutions.
Pascale Olivié of Société Générale said the initiative represents a “major milestone” in advancing sustainable finance across Africa. “We are pleased to leverage our expertise to support AfDB, DBSA and other institutions in establishing a groundbreaking multi-originator synthetic securitisation platform that drives inclusive growth,” she stated.
Max Ndiaye, AfDB Senior Director for Syndications, Client Solutions and the Africa Investment Forum, emphasised the platform’s strategic importance. “The SST Platform will help expand lending capacity for high-impact projects and strengthen Africa’s ability to scale financing solutions for sustainable development,” he said.
The initiative supports the African Development Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy and aligns with President Sidi Ould Tah’s Four Cardinal Points, which place strong emphasis on accelerating private capital mobilisation to drive Africa’s economic transformation.
