Africa: African Development Bank Group and African Forum of Deposit Funds Enter Into New Alliance to Mobilize More Long-Term Financing

The African Development Bank Group and the members of the African Forum of Deposit Funds have agreed to strengthen their cooperation to mobilise more long-term financing for the continent's sustainable development. Through this strategic alliance, they aim to support productive investment, strengthen the continent's economic resilience and contribute to more inclusive growth.

Recognising the importance of institutional cooperation, both parties intend to coordinate responses to geopolitical and economic uncertainties, climate-related disruptions, global shocks, market dependencies , and social economic divides.

This structured and evolving cooperation framework respects each partners institutional diversity and complementary mandates. It strategically directs their joint efforts towards high-potential sectors aligned with their respective missions.

The strengthened alliance leverages the complementary strengths of the African Development Bank Group and the African members of the African Forum of Deposit Funds. Together they will facilitate long-term resource mobilisation, support productive investment and promote financing solutions tailored to the continent's development priorities.

"In a context marked by global economic uncertainty and the need to mobilise more resources for development, no institution can act alone. By strengthening our cooperation with the African members of the African Forum of Deposit Funds, we are creating the conditions for more effective mobilisation of long-term financing to support Africa's economic transformation, job creation and the resilience of our economies," said Ahmed Attout, Director of the Financial Sector Development Department at the African Development Bank Group.

Maryse Lokossou, Managing Director of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations du Bénin and current Chair of the African Forum of Deposit Funds, emphasised the strategic role of deposit funds in financing sustainable development and the added value of the partnership with the African Development Bank Group.

"African deposit funds have a unique capacity to mobilise long-term savings for national development. By combining our expertise and investment capacity with those of the African Development Bank Group, we aim to accelerate financing for projects with significant economic and social impact and help build more resilient and inclusive African economies," Lokossou said.

The two partners intend to deepen their cooperation in several priority areas to increase the impact of their interventions. Their joint activities will include co-financing projects and joint operations, mobilising resources at scale, and developing investment vehicles and platforms to support productive investment, entrepreneurship and job creation.

Cooperation will also be strengthened in knowledge sharing, institutional capacity development and the promotion of solutions to enhance the resilience of African economies to economic, financial, climate-related and external shocks. This approach will bolster investments and cooperation frameworks aligned with national and regional priorities.

This strategic partnership provides a framework for cooperation founded on a shared commitment to Africa's sustainable and inclusive development. The two parties are committed to promoting an inclusive and predictable African financial system under the New African Financial Architecture for Development. They reaffirm their determination to build a strong, transformative and impact-oriented partnership founded on mutual trust, knowledge sharing and the mobilisation of resources for the benefit of African countries and their people.

About the African Forum of Deposit Funds

The African Forum of Deposit Funds is a platform for exchange and dialogue among public financial institutions responsible for collecting, managing and using savings or other forms of long-term public resources to support environmentally sustainable economic and social development.

About the African Development Bank Group

The African Development Bank Group is Africa's premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund and the Nigeria Trust Fund. With a presence in 44 African countries and an external office in Japan, the Bank Group contributes to the economic development and social progress of its 54 regional member countries. For more information, visit the African Development Bank Group website at: http://www.afdb.org