LAGOS, Nov 12 – The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and France’s Agence Française de Développement (AFD) have signed a new memorandum of understanding covering 2026 to 2031, extending a partnership that has supported 17 jointly financed projects across 14 African countries since 2021.
The agreement was signed on November 10 on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum. It aims to strengthen cooperation throughout the project development cycle, from early assessment and preparation to financing and implementation, while expanding the pipeline of investment-ready projects across the continent.
Under the agreement, both institutions will jointly assess prospective projects and combine financing with project preparation, technical advice, policy dialogue and capacity building. They will also deepen cooperation on project management, monitoring and knowledge transfer.
The partnership covers infrastructure for the energy transition, transport, water and sanitation, and regional connectivity. Other priorities include agriculture, industrial development, private sector growth, entrepreneurship, access to finance and job creation, particularly for women and young people.
The agreement also identifies critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, digital infrastructure, data governance and the responsible use of artificial intelligence as areas for cooperation. Climate resilience, biodiversity, health, education and governance are also included.
AfDB President Dr Sidi Ould Tah said the partnership would help channel capital towards infrastructure, stronger African value chains and employment opportunities.
“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,” he said.
AFD Group Chief Executive Officer Christophe Lecourtier described the agreement as a further step in the institutions’ relationship, highlighting their shared ambition to finance projects that address African development priorities while creating opportunities for European partners.
“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”
Financing instruments and ongoing projects
The agreement provides for expanded cooperation on blended finance, guarantees, catalytic finance and carbon finance to mobilise additional public and private investment. The institutions will also explore access to European financial instruments and co-financing platforms involving European institutions and African partners.
The partnership builds on 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 has accounted for nearly half of the institutions’ joint financing since 2021. AFD has also committed €1 billion to Mission 300, an initiative of the AfDB and the World Bank to connect an additional 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa to electricity by 2030.
Their ongoing operations include renewable energy projects such as Qair’s solar developments in Chad, with a combined capacity of 30 megawatt-peak (MWp), and the 88 MW Kakono hydropower project in Tanzania.
In regional transport, the institutions are providing complementary financing for the Abidjan-Lagos, Abidjan-Ouagadougou and Lobito corridors, which are intended to strengthen trade and regional integration.
Their private sector and industrial development initiatives include Nigeria’s jointly financed Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises programme. In Côte d’Ivoire, cooperation includes the Single Window for SME Development, designed as a one-stop shop for small and medium-sized enterprises, and the Diversification, Accelerated Industrialisation, Competitiveness and Employment programme.
The institutions are also supporting South African biopharmaceutical company Biovac as it expands local vaccine production and pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity.
The renewed agreement provides a framework for both institutions to coordinate financing and technical support across these sectors, with a focus on preparing projects for investment and mobilising additional resources for development priorities across Africa.
