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The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has mobilized a record $11 billion for the African Development Fund (ADF). This marks the largest replenishment of the concessional lending window in its history and signals renewed global confidence in Africa’s development prospects, despite tightening aid budgets globally.
The funding was secured from 43 development partners under the 17th Replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF-17), representing a 23% increase compared to the previous funding round. This replenishment is expected to significantly expand financing for energy access, food systems, human capital, and infrastructure across low-income and vulnerable African economies.
AfDB President Dr. Sidi Ould Tah said this result was a turning point for development finance on the continent, noting that partners chose to be ambitious and invest amid global fiscal stress.
He said the replenishment reflects confidence in Africa’s potential and a development model that focuses on risk-sharing, scale and private sector mobilization rather than traditional aid.
In a major milestone, African countries made direct contributions to the Fund for the first time in its history.
A total of 23 African countries pledged $182.7 million, five times the previous supplement, and 19 countries contributed for the first time.
According to the World Bank, this move positions Africa not only as a beneficiary of concessional finance, but also as a co-investor in its own development.
The ADF-17 cycle also introduces a restructured financial framework that allows funds to leverage their balance sheets more effectively. The new approach deploys concessional resources to absorb risk, attract private capital, and expand investment.
The Fund currently mobilizes more than $2.5 billion in cofinancing for every dollar committed, and the Bank expects this ratio to increase under the revised model.
Large concessional co-financing partnerships were also fixed under the replenishment. Development finance institutions announced significant commitments, including up to $800 million from the Arab Economic Development Bank and up to $2 billion from the OPEC International Development Fund, strengthening the fund’s ability to pursue projects in high-risk and fragile environments.
Resources mobilized through ADF-17 will support 37 low-income and vulnerable African countries, prioritizing expanding energy access, strengthening food security, investing in human capital, promoting regional integration, and building resilient infrastructure.
Targeted support will continue for vulnerable states through dedicated support facilities.
The replenishment process, which followed a year of negotiations amid heightened global economic uncertainty, concluded at a pledging meeting in London co-hosted by the UK and Ghana. Baroness Jenny Chapman, UK Secretary of State for International Development and Africa, said the results reaffirmed the UK’s long-standing partnership with the AfDB in promoting inclusive and sustainable growth on the continent.
Thomas Nyarko Amprem, Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Finance, said the African Development Fund is a strategic instrument to reduce vulnerabilities across Africa, adding that this successful replenishment confirms strong international confidence in the Fund’s direction.
Mr Tarr said the $11 billion mobilization was more than aid, it was a strategic investment with tangible benefits in stability, growth, trade and global resilience across Africa.
