New five-year agreement aims to scale up joint investments and strengthen cooperation across Africa’s development priorities
The African Development Bank Group and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) have signed a memorandum of understanding for 2026-2031, building on a partnership that has supported 17 jointly financed projects across 14 African countries since 2021. Signed on 10 November, on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum, the agreement aims to strengthen cooperation from the earliest stages of project development and maintain close alignment through implementation.
By jointly assessing prospective projects as early as possible and combining financing with project preparation, technical advice, policy dialogue and capacity building, the two institutions aim to build a stronger pipeline of investment-ready projects and programmes.
They also intend to deepen collaboration on project management, monitoring and knowledge transfer.
Priority areas include infrastructure for the energy transition, transport, water and sanitation, and regional connectivity, as well as agriculture and industry. The partnership will place strong emphasis on private sector development, entrepreneurship, access to finance and job creation, particularly for women and young people.
The agreement also covers critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, digital infrastructure, data governance and the responsible use of artificial intelligence, along with climate resilience, biodiversity, health, education and governance.
Bank Group President Dr Sidi Ould Tah said: “The Paris Peace Forum is a fitting setting to renew our cooperation with AFD. Peace and development are built together, and delivering on Africa’s priorities requires close collaboration. France has stood with the Bank Group in that effort for decades, and together, we will continue to direct capital toward infrastructure that connects markets, strengthens African value chains and creates jobs for Africa’s young people.”
Christophe Lecourtier, Chief Executive Officer of the AFD Group added: “I am delighted to take this new step in our partnership with the African Development Bank, AFD’s leading financial partner in Africa. We share a common ambition: to invest in projects that address the priorities of African countries while creating opportunities for our partners in France and Europe. Together, we aim to step up financing for strategic infrastructure, particularly in the energy and transport sectors, to support industrial development, job creation and long-term economic growth”
The agreement further outlines cooperation on blended finance, guarantees, catalytic finance and carbon finance to mobilize additional public and private resources. This includes exploring access to European financial instruments and co-financing platforms that bring together the Bank Group, European institutions and African partners.
The Paris signing continues a relationship first formalised in 2008 and renewed in 2021. France joined the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional financing window, in 1977, and the African Development Bank in 1983.
Energy accounts for nearly half of joint financing since 2021, and AFD has committed €1 billion to Mission 300, a joint initiative of the Bank Group and the World Bank to connect an additional 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa to electricity by 2030.
The two institutions are currently engaged in operations across the continent, including:
• Renewable energy: the Qair solar projects in Chad (30 MWp combined) and the Kakono hydropower project in Tanzania (88 MW).
• Regional connectivity: complementary financing for strategic corridors, including Abidjan-Lagos, Abidjan-Ouagadougou and Lobito, to strengthen regional integration and trade.
• Entrepreneurship and industrial development: the jointly financed Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises programme in Nigeria, and complementary initiatives the Single Window for SME Development, a one-stop shop for small and medium-sized enterprises, and the Diversification, Accelerated Industrialisation, Competitiveness and Employment programme, both in Côte d’Ivoire.
• Health and local manufacturing: support for Biovac, a South African biopharmaceutical company that is expanding local vaccine production and Africa’s pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity.
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: www.afdb.org
