AfDB President, Dr Sidi Ould Tah, has disclosed plans to establish a Pan-African Financial Coordination Platform, designed to enhance synergy among African financial institutions and ensure more efficient use of capital.
The announcement followed a consultative meeting with regional financial institutions, coming after an earlier engagement with African securities exchanges as the AfDB seeks broad industry input before finalising the new framework.
“African countries require huge resources to meet their development needs, making stronger collaboration among Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) critical,” Ould Tah said.
“Regional DFIs are closest to the beneficiaries, emphasising the need to reinforce their capital base to enable them deliver on their mandates.”
Setting up a task force
Ould Tah said a task force would be set up to address key issues raised during consultations, including de-risking, equity strengthening, access to concessional loans, and liquidity support.
He added that he would further engage private sector leaders and global rating agencies in London in mid-December after the final session of the 17th replenishment of the African Development Fund.
Regional DFIs call for stronger support mechanisms
Top executives from leading regional DFIs participated in the meeting, including the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, West African Development Bank, Shelter Afrique and the Africa Finance Corporation.
Admassu Tadesse, President of the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, stressed the need for new stabilising tools.
He called for “a standby liquidity mechanism and the use of callable capital guarantees,” noting that multilateral development banks such as the AfDB possess instruments capable of significantly lowering financing costs and enhancing development impact.
Political instability affecting credit ratings — WAEMU Bank Chief
Serge Ekue, President of the West African Development Bank, highlighted the impact of regional instability.
He said political uncertainty had weakened credit ratings across West Africa, making the AfDB’s AAA credit rating essential for restoring confidence and stabilising markets.
Ekue also underscored the importance of avoiding duplicated efforts and clarifying institutional roles.
“Regional DFIs are small enough to care, but big enough to execute,” he said.
ECOWAS Bank seeks greater synergy and co-lending
Similarly, Dr. George Donkor, President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, emphasised the need for enhanced coordination among African financial institutions.
Donkor said stronger partnerships — especially through co-lending and syndication — would enable larger institutions to support smaller DFIs and accelerate Africa’s development financing capacity.
What you should know
- Last week, the AfDB approved $100 million loan to the Emerging Africa and Asia Infrastructure Fund (EAAIF) to boost sustainable infrastructure development across Africa.
- The new financing package, according to a statement published on the bank’s website, is designed to unlock private capital and support transformative projects in renewable energy, transport, digital connectivity, and other critical sectors across the African continent.
