The African Development Bank Group is taking significant steps to address Africa’s financing challenges by collaborating with regional financial partners to establish a Pan-African Financial Coordination Platform. This innovative platform aims to enhance collaboration among African financial institutions, streamline resource deployment, and promote efficiency through shared project pipelines, harmonized technical standards, and coordinated implementation timelines.
African Development Bank Group President Sidi Ould Tah met with leaders of African development finance institutions (DFIs) and private sector partners in Abidjan on 19 November, following earlier engagements with heads of African securities exchanges. The initiative is set to be shaped through extensive consultations with financial experts across the continent. Dr Ould Tah emphasized the urgent need for resources in African countries and highlighted the pivotal role of DFIs in bridging financing gaps and driving development at both national and regional levels.
The proposed platform is expected to strengthen DFIs by enhancing their capital base and operational capacity. Participants welcomed the initiative, offering insights on areas for improvement and sharing best practices. Admassu Tadesse of the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank advocated for standby liquidity mechanisms and callable capital guarantees to leverage the AAA ratings of multilateral development banks for more affordable financing. Serge Ekue of the West African Development Bank emphasized the importance of avoiding duplication of efforts and maintaining operational clarity while leveraging the African Development Bank Group’s strong credit rating.
Dr George Agyekum Donkor of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development highlighted the need for larger institutions to support smaller ones through credibility and co-lending instruments, while Thierno-Habib Hann of Shelter Afrique underlined the importance of coordinated resource mobilization and capacity building for large-scale transformative projects. Sameh Shenouda, representing Africa Finance Corporation, stressed breaking institutional silos, fostering cooperation, and jointly promoting Africa’s development story on global platforms.
Solomon Quaynor, Vice President for Private Sector Infrastructure & Industrialization at the African Development Bank Group, emphasized a systemic approach to collaboration, mobilizing partners, and optimizing capital allocation. Dr Ould Tah concluded the meetings by announcing the formation of a task force to address key issues such as strengthening equity, derisking, avoiding duplication, concessional lending, and providing liquidity for DFIs. He also revealed plans to engage with the private sector and credit rating agencies in London in mid-December, following the Seventeenth Replenishment of the African Development Fund, hosted by the United Kingdom and Ghana from 15 to 16 December 2025.
