AfDB Increases Investment to Support Businesses and People in Africa
The African Development Bank Group is stepping up efforts to mobilise co-financing in order to increase investment and development impact across the continent, as Africa faces an estimated annual financing gap of 400 billion US dollars.
The move comes ahead of the Bank’s 2026 Annual Meetings and follows the 17th replenishment of the African Development Fund in December 2025, which attracted contributions from 44 development finance partners, including 24 African countries.
Additional support has been pledged by key partners such as the OPEC Fund for International Development and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, which have committed up to 2 billion US dollars and 800 million US dollars respectively in co-financing between 2026 and 2028.
At the centre of this strategy is the Bank Group’s President, Sidi Ould Tah, who has prioritised partnerships under his “Four Cardinal Points” vision since assuming office in September 2025.
He has stressed that the Bank cannot meet Africa’s development needs alone, noting that its approvals account for less than 10 percent of the continent’s total financing requirements.
The Bank is therefore seeking stronger collaboration with global and regional partners to scale up investments in key sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture, energy and private sector development.
Among major partnerships is a renewed collaboration with the World Bank Group and the Arab Coordination Group, aimed at increasing co-financing and mobilising private capital for Africa’s economic transformation.
In the energy sector, the Bank has joined forces with partners including the Rockefeller Foundation and Sustainable Energy for All to launch “Mission 300”, an initiative targeting electricity access for 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Bank has also strengthened ties with the European Union under its Global Gateway strategy, with joint financing operations reaching 972 million euros between 2022 and 2024.
In addition, an agreement with the European Investment Bank’s EIB Global will see 275 million US dollars invested in modernising Mauritania’s key railway corridor.
Across the continent, co-financed projects are already delivering results. Under the African Emergency Food Production Facility, agricultural productivity has improved significantly in several countries.
In Burkina Faso, sorghum and soybean yields have increased, while in the Democratic Republic of Congo, thousands of farming households have received vital support to boost food production.
The Bank is also expanding partnerships with institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank to address fragility and build resilience in vulnerable regions.
The growing emphasis on partnerships will be a key focus at the 2026 Annual Meetings, scheduled to take place from 25 to 29 May in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, under the theme “Mobilising Africa’s Development Financing at Scale in a Multi-Polar World”.
The African Development Bank Group says strengthening co-financing and strategic partnerships will be critical to unlocking sustainable growth, accelerating regional integration and improving livelihoods across Africa.
