AfDB mobilises $11b for investment-led development

The African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional financing arm of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), has secured a record $11 billion from 43 partners for its 17th Replenishment (ADF-17), the largest in the fund’s history.
The funding represents a 23per cent increase over the previous replenishment. AfDB said this sends a clear signal of confidence in Africa’s development prospects, its leadership, and a new development model centred on investment, risk-sharing, and scale.
President of the AfDB, Sidi Ould Tah, said: “This is not just a replenishment, it is a turning point. In one of the most difficult global environments for development finance, our partners chose ambition over retrenchment and investment over inertia.”
A total of $182.7 million was pledged by African countries, with 19 countries contributing for the first time, alongside long-standing regional contributors. This represents a five-fold increase compared to the previous replenishment.
Partners endorsed a new financial model that allows the ADF to leverage its balance sheet, deploy innovative instruments including hybrid capital, and use concessional finance strategically to absorb risk, crowd in private capital, and catalyse investment at scale.