As part of the AfDB Group’s Annual Meetings in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina, at a press luncheon on Monday 26 May, reviewed a decade of governance. He spoke of the Bank’s rise to prominence, with its authorised capital quadrupling in ten years and investments of more than 225 billion dollars in infrastructure, agriculture, health and transport projects since 2018 through the Africa Investment Forum. This end-of-term conference for the Nigerian economist sounds like a passing of the baton, just a few hours before the election of his successor from among five candidates.
With just a few hours to go before the formal opening of the 60th Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, the institution’s outgoing president, took stock of a decade of governance at a press luncheon on Monday 26 May in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. At the head of the institution since 2015, the AfDB’s capital has risen in ten years from 93 to 318 billion dollars, a historic increase according to President Adesina. However, the economist recalls the fundamentals: mobilising resources, activating
“We have mobilised 225 billion dollars through the Africa Investment Forum. It covers agriculture, infrastructure, health and transport. And with our guarantee instruments, we have helped several countries – Togo, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Rwanda and Egypt – to access the capital markets. The result: lower interest rates and longer financing periods”.
AKINWUMI ADESINA, AfDB President – Nigeria
One of the silent transformations of recent years has been the rise of African countries themselves in the financing of the AfDB. Long dependent on external donors, the AfDB can now count on direct contributions from some of its African members. Algeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and others are beginning to get involved, not just in words, but also in cash.
I’m delighted today that the African countries have started to do their bit, to make their contributions. We had $5 million from Morocco. We got 10 billion dollars from Algeria. Kenya had pledged 20 million dollars. The Gambia, Liberia, Ghana and Sierra Leone are also going to contribute, and the day before yesterday I received a letter from the finance minister of southern Sudan, who is also going to contribute 2 million dollars.”
AKINWUMI ADESINA, AfDB President – Nigeria
“A decade of strategy has already been mapped out for 2024-2033, co-constructed with 81 countries and development players. The outgoing president described the document as a compass for the coming years. He also cited projects with a strong social impact, such as a sanitation programme in Lesotho, which has enabled 30,000 people, mostly young girls, to go to school in better sanitary conditions.
