Africa: African Development Bank

When it was formed in 1964, the African Development Bank’s aim was to become Africa’s bank.

Over 60 years later, it has become the continent’s premier multilateral financing institution and the only one in Africa to have been awarded an AAA rating consistently for almost a decade. A first. As well as gains on the financial market and the prestige associated with it, the rating is the result of rigorous work with a long-term impact on the African continent. Above all, it has pride of place among other accolades that confirm the institution’s international recognition.

The most transparent institution

The AAA rating, awarded to the Bank by the main global rating agencies – Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, Fitch and the Japan Credit Rating Agency – reflects its solvency and exceptional capacity for fulfilling its financial commitments.

The prestigious US magazine Global Finance, which specializes in the financial markets and investment banks, named the African Development Bank as “Best Global Multilateral Financial Institution 2021”. The Bank has also been ranked first on the Aid Transparency Index published by Publish What You Fund. Similarly, the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional finance window, has been ranked second by the Center for Global Development, based in Washington DC, ahead of 49 concessional finance institutions in all OECD countries, for the quality of its development assistance.

In other words, the Bank’s influence – driven by the “High 5”, its five strategic priorities launched in 2015 – has resulted in real, concrete action that has transformed the lives of several million Africans.

“Over the past ten years, the work of the African Development Bank has impacted over 515 million people, including 231 million women.” Adesina told the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union.

Covid-19, food security and a Bank at the leading edge

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the African Development Bank Group was at the forefront of the health emergency, setting up a USD 10 billion fund for a swift response to Africa’s needs. This outstanding leadership was praised by the international community.

Thanks to its USD 3 billion “Fight Covid-19” social impact bond, issued in March 2020, the Bank was named “Best Covid-19 pandemic bond issuer” by the key players in the bond markets. The bond was listed on the London Stock Exchange and admitted to the Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network.

Moreover, in March 2020, the African Development Bank received the 2020 Bond Award from Environmental Finance for the success of the very first social impact bond issued on the Norwegian market and the Bank’s first financial transaction in Norwegian krone (NOK 1 billion).

The Bank made a successful transition to the Libor and at COP28 in Dubai, it entered into the “Global Green Bond Initiative”, which is aimed at providing technical assistance to promote green bond markets in Africa.

The African Development Bank earned global recognition for the issue of hybrid capital, a world first for a multilateral development bank, becoming a pioneer in innovative sustainable finance.

The awards and prizes constitute global recognition of the sustained efforts made by the Bank Group, which has become a bank that provides solutions for Africa and offer positive affirmation of the institution’s operational strategy.

The Bank’s Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) programme, which has helped 12 million farmers access climate-resilient agricultural technologies for wheat, rice and maize, among others, was praised by actors and leaders in the seed industry at the annual Seed Connect Africa 2024 meeting.

In order to address the impacts of the war between Russia and Ukraine on food security in Africa, the Bank also set up the African Emergency Food Production Facility, with a budget of USD 1.5 billion, to help 20 million farmers produce 38 million tonnes of foodstuffs, with an estimated value of USD 12 billion.

The African Development Fund has set up a Climate Action Window, with initial funding of USD 429 million, to strengthen the climate resilience of the most vulnerable African countries.

Over the last 10 years, the Bank has increased its capital from USD 93 billion in 2015 to USD 318 billion today.

“In fact, we have been the only AAA-rated financial institution on the continent over the last nine years for which I have been the Bank’s President,” stated Mr Adesina, who will be handing over the reins at the Annual Meetings in May, after 10 years of leading the institution.

The Bank’s President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has been given the prestigious “Nigerian Diaspora Global Icon” award along with key figures from Nigeria, and been ranked as one of the most influential people in the world and/or Africa by renowned magazines such as Forbes or Time.

All that said, recognition of the Bank’s actions comes first and foremost from the voices of the countless beneficiaries whose living conditions have been radically transformed by a bold, innovative strategy with a focus on what matters most: the development of the continent.