The African Development Bank Group held a joint review of its project portfolio from 27 to 31 October in Malabo, Republic of Equatorial Guinea.
An action plan to improve portfolio performance was approved at the end of the meeting. As part of its action plan to improve portfolio performance, stakeholders plan to establish a coordinated project monitoring system, establish rigorous mechanisms to monitor contractual commitments, and ensure compliance with financial obligations.
The workshop, which brought together ministerial representatives, technical partners, and project management teams, provided an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of the World Bank Group’s interventions in the country and map future investment directions in line with the Government of Equatorial Guinea’s Agenda 2035. The review included feasibility studies for the Financial Modernization Support Program (PAMFP), the Support for Value Chain Development in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector (PASPA), and the Support for Digital Ecosystem Enhancement (PARED).
The joint portfolio analysis highlighted several obstacles to the project’s effectiveness, namely a slow start-up, a delay in establishing a management unit, and a delay in issuing a no-objection notice by the banking group. Added to this is the team’s limited technical capacity and lack of knowledge of Pan-African institutions’ procurement, expenditure, and financial management procedures.
“The Bank is building close business relationships with project management departments and strengthening capacity development through targeted training in fiduciary management and monitoring and evaluation,” said Mohamed Gueye, Manager, Social Development and Human Capital for Central and North Africa, on behalf of Leandre Basore, Director of the Central African Banking Group.
“We are also maintaining close dialogue with our partners to mobilize more co-financing under the post-2026 financing program,” he added. “This exercise had several objectives: to ensure that our actions are in line with Agenda 2035, to review in detail our project portfolio, to identify shortcomings in its implementation and assess its level of progress,” explained Ladislao Ndong Ndong Biso, Director General of Economic and Financial Institutions, who represented Minister of Finance, Planning, Economic Development and Budget Ivan Bakare Ebbe Molina.
“The results will help define future project directions and funding conditions,” he said. Several complementary activities were planned after the workshop.
In particular, the contract clinic for project managers helped strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the new accounting framework and the Bank’s financial management rules and procedures. Additionally, a financing agreement of EUR 58.61 million was signed between the Banking Group and Equatorial Guinea for the implementation of the Human Capital Strengthening Project in Support of Economic and Social Inclusion (PARCH).
Finally, the PASPA project site visit allowed the World Bank delegation to highlight significant progress in the construction of aquaculture infrastructure, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026. The Republic of Equatorial Guinea has been a member of the African Development Bank Group since 1975.
The agency’s first loans, dating back to December 1978, were for nearly $9 million worth of cocoa tree restoration projects. To date, Equatorial Guinea has benefited from 53 projects funded by the World Bank Group, with a cumulative total of $337.3 million.
The Group’s active portfolio in Equatorial Guinea consists of six projects with a cumulative value of approximately $167 million. These investments are strategically distributed across several key sectors: social sector (42.2 percent), agriculture (38.6 percent), governance (18.5 percent), and communications, ICT and energy (0.7 percent).
