BUSINESS REPORTER
African Development Bank Group president Akinwumi Adesina has garnered broad strong support for a robust 16th replenishment of the institution’s concessionary lending arm that supports Africa’s low-income economies.
The African Development Fund replenishment efforts continue through October, when partners are expected to make their pledges.
The commitments were secured on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Spring meetings where Adesina also had several bilateral engagements with stakeholders on African development.
Adesina garnered broad strong support for a robust 16th replenishment of the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessionary lending arm that supports Africa’s low-income economies. Replenishment efforts continue through October, when partners are expected to make their pledges.
During bilateral meetings, United States Assistant Treasury Secretary Alexia Latortue said the African Development Fund was critical to Africa’s the development landscape. She assured Adesina that the US remains a strong and proud supporter of the Fund, which has strategic focus and delivers impact.
Latortue applauded the leadership of Adesina in developing the Bank’s bold African emergency food production plan to avert the looming food crisis due to the Russian war in Ukraine and assured of the strong partnership of the US Treasury Department on the plan.
Adesina received similar strong support for the African Development Fund replenishment from other partners, including Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation Matilda Ernkrans, Norway’s Minister for International Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, UK’s minister for Africa Vicky Ford and Paul Ryan, Director of International Finance and Climate of Ireland.
They gave their strong support for the African Development Fund to be allowed to go to the market to leverage its equity and raise more financing for low-income and fragile states.
Adesina affirmed to the shareholders that the African Development Fund’s impact on Africa, through their support, was massive and far reaching. According to the Swedish Minister Ernkrans “the African Development Bank is doing an incredible work and we strongly support the Bank. Sweden supports the African Development Fund to leverage its resources from the market to put more resources for countries. You are doing an excellent job.”
Meeting with the African Union’s Group of 15 Finance Ministers, Adesina outlined the continent’s immediate challenges and the solutions that were being applied to tackle them successfully.
Top of Adesina’s list was a plan for massive food production in the face of a looming global food crisis caused by the Russia war in Ukraine, and the need for a more flexible and substantial replenishment of the African Development Fund. The ministers agreed to a joint communique on financing Africa’s economic resilience in turbulent times.
They called for a substantial replenishment of the African Development Fund and for the Fund to be allowed to use its equity to leverage more resources from international capital markets to meet the rapidly growing needs of countries in Africa.
