A Brief About Africa Development Bank

 

The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group is a regional multilateral development finance institution established to contribute to the economic development and social progress of African countries that are the institution’s Regional Member Countries (RMCs).

The AfDB was founded following an agreement signed by member states on August 14, 1963, in Khartoum, Sudan, which became effective on September 10, 1964. The AfDB comprises three entities: the African Development Bank (ADB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF).

The AfDB's mission is to fight poverty and improve living conditions on the continent through promoting the investment of public and private capital in projects and programs that are likely to contribute to the economic and social development of the region. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies investing in the regional member countries (RMC). While it was originally headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, the bank's headquarters moved to Tunis, Tunisia, in 2003, due to the Ivorian civil war; before returning in September 2014.

Taking You Down Memory Lane

Following the end of the colonial period in Africa, a growing desire for more unity within the continent led to the establishment of two draft charters, one for the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (established in 1963, later replaced by the African Union), and for a regional development bank.

A draft accord was submitted to top African officials then to the Conference of Finance Ministers on the Establishment of an African Development Bank. This conference was convened by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Khartoum, Sudan, from 31 July to 4 August. It was here that the agreement establishing the African Development Bank (AfDB) was cosigned by twenty-three African governments on 4 August1963. The agreement came into force on 10 September 1964.

The inaugural meeting of the Board of Governors of the Bank was held from 4 to 7 November 1964 in Lagos, Nigeria. The Bank's headquarters opened in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in March 1965 and the Bank's operations commenced on 1 July 1966. From February 2003 onwards, the Bank operated from its Temporary Relocation Agency in Tunis, Tunisia, owing to the prevailing political conflict in Côte d’Ivoire at the time. The Bank was able to return to its original headquarters in Abidjan in late 2013 once the political crisis was over. By June 2015, over 1,500 staff had returned to the Bank's Abidjan headquarters out of the more than 1,900 total staff complement at the Bank.

Although, originally, only African countries were able to join the bank, since 1982 it has allowed the entry of non-African countries as well.

Since its founding, AfDB has financed 2,885 operations, for a total of $47.5 billion. In 2003, it received an AAA rating from the major financial rating agencies and had a capital of $32.043 billion. In November 2019, the bank's capital was reported as $208 billion.