The African Development Bank: Making Strides Towards Transformation Today
When Akinwumi Adesina commenced his role as president of Africa’s leading multilateral development bank in 2015, the African Development Bank boasted a capital base of $93 billion. Nearly a decade later, with its capital base growing to $318 billion, Adesina confidently asserts, “the Bank you see today is different.” One of his most significant accomplishments as president has been enhancing the Bank’s strength by persuading both regional and non-regional shareholders to bolster its capital base, ensuring its stability for years ahead.
However, in an exclusive, extensive interview held during COP29 in Baku, he notes that there remains much to accomplish and numerous challenges to address.
Climate leadership
Among the most pressing of these challenges is the climate crisis, where the Bank has emerged as a leader both on the continent and beyond.
“For Africa, the climate crisis could be one of our greatest challenges, resulting in losses of between $7 billion and $15 billion annually. We estimate that this figure will escalate to approximately $50 billion each year by 2030.” Under Adesina’s leadership, the Bank has intensified its response to this emergency, particularly by increasing its lending for climate-focused projects.
“When I assumed the presidency in 2016,” he explains, “the Bank allocated just 9% of its total lending to climate initiatives. Acknowledging the necessity for climate finance to play a more significant role, especially regarding Africa’s adaptation needs, we ramped this up. By 2022, 45% of our financing was directed towards climate. Currently, we’re at about 50-55%, surpassing the 50-50 mark.”
These initiatives have garnered the attention of the United Nations; in 2021, Secretary-General António Guterres praised the Bank for its exemplary actions concerning climate issues.
“The African Development Bank set a precedent in 2019 by dedicating half of its climate finance to adaptation efforts. Some donor nations have followed in their footsteps. All must do likewise,” stated Guterres.
Adesina credits his approach to climate initiatives as reflective of his fundamental ethos: “Whenever I encounter a problem, my strategy is not merely to complain about insufficient support; rather, I seek innovative solutions to tackle the issue. That is precisely what we have done regarding climate change.”
One such innovation is the Climate Action Window, a funding avenue designed to “climate-proof” smaller nations. Launched as part of the African Development Fund’s 16th replenishment with $429 million in initial funding, it has since drawn over $4 billion in subscriptions. This initiative, which emphasizes climate adaptation (75%), mitigation (15%), and technical assistance, aims to assist millions by providing climate data to 20 million farmers, restoring a million hectares of degraded land, and improving renewable energy access for 12 million people and water sanitation for 9.5 million.
Now, he notes, the World Bank’s International Development Agency is contemplating the establishment of similar funds; the International Fund for Agricultural Development has already implemented such measures. Collaborating with the Global Centre on Adaptation, the Bank has also launched the African Adaptation Acceleration Program, the most extensive climate adaptation initiative globally, with a budget of $25 billion. This program aims to enhance climate resilience across the continent through investment in vital areas like green hydrogen, green ammonia, and energy efficiency. Furthermore, the Bank has initiated the Alliance for Green Infrastructure, targeting $10 billion for sustainable project funding. Adesina personally engaged all G7 leaders to garner support for the initiative, culminating in a $175 billion project preparation facility.
Supporting agriculture
Agriculture across the continent is already feeling the impacts of climate change, with crop yields diminishing due to shifting weather patterns. Adesina claims that the Bank’s Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation initiative is “the most significant action we have undertaken for global agriculture.” At the onset of his tenure, he was determined to increase food production. “I stated that we were going to invest $25 billion in agriculture. I was aware that to achieve self-sufficiency and also support global food needs, we needed to more than double African agricultural productivity.”
The initiative emerged as a result of this commitment, uniting the global research and development framework of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research alongside national agricultural systems and the private sector to deliver advanced agricultural technologies to farmers throughout Africa. Over the last four years, the program has positively impacted more than 22 million farmers by providing climate-resilient solutions, enhancing food security, and introducing sustainable practices.
“In 2018-19, East Africa experienced a significant drought. Again, through TAAT [the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation program], we offered support with water-efficient maize, reaching 5.8 million households and benefiting 30 million people who were able to evade the drought,” he recounts.
The project has also produced drought-resistant rice, supplied to 3.2 million households in West Africa. These tangible efforts serve as a remedy for the persistent disappointment of unfulfilled climate commitments, particularly the $100 billion promised annually for climate adaptation that has largely gone unmet by wealthier nations.
At this year’s COP29, the previous target was substituted with a more ambitious aim of $300 billion annually by 2035 – is this achievable? Adesina believes that while developed countries must amplify their efforts and fulfill commitments, Africa also cannot afford to simply wait. “We all share a collective responsibility to address climate issues and protect our planet. It’s not the words we utter that count, but our actions. Hope is absolutely important, but delayed hope results in suffering.”
Working with the MDBs
As such, multilateral development banks (MDBs), including Adesina’s institution, are making funding available and collaborating more than ever. “We are streamlining our procedures, ensuring accountability in our reporting, enhancing communication, and fulfilling our responsibilities within the framework of global commitments,” he emphasizes.
“For instance, the annual $100 billion commitment from developed nations was facilitated by MDBs. Last year, we collectively lent $125 billion, exceeding the pledged $100 billion,” he highlights.
The Bank, according to Adesina, intends to continue contributing its share. “Here at COP29, we have underscored our commitment to climate finance as an MDB. By 2030, we [as MDBs] aim to support $170 billion annually, with $120 billion allocated for low-income and middle-income countries. Furthermore, we seek to leverage $65 billion for private climate finance and about $45 billion specifically for climate adaptation.”
However, other stakeholders must also rise up for the collective benefit.
“What I’m conveying is that the newly established collective quantified goal necessitates participation from everyone. It’s crucial not to overlook the principle of collective but differentiated responsibility. Developed nations, responsible for the majority of emissions, must fulfill their obligations. They need to contribute,” Adesina stresses.
“Firstly, there’s only so much yield you can extract from an excessively squeezed orange. Eventually, you need to find more oranges and extract from them. While multilateral development banks will fulfill their role, increased capital is imperative. There’s a need for more paid-in capital to take greater risks for private sector engagement. Also, tackling climate challenges cannot solely rely on additional loans—many countries require grants as well.”
Adesina perceives debt as another significant challenge, with around 22 countries on the continent facing moderate to high risk of debt distress.
“We must determine a solution to this. This year, debt service repayments are projected to reach approximately $74 billion, compared to just $17 billion in 2010.”
Apart from this, African nations are often subjected to what many perceive as an unfair risk premium on loans. This is why Adesina advocates for the establishment of an African credit rating agency, one that would possess superior data and insights into the continent to improve assessments of countries’ fiscal conditions.
“Some may believe it’s merely the African Union creating an agency for itself. In reality, it would be a professionally managed, independent entity providing sound assessments,” he clarifies. “When you consult a physician and undergo tests, you’re entitled to seek a second opinion, aren’t you? It’s time for that to occur.”
The Bank is also consolidating its investment guarantee tools into a single organization, the Africa Investment Guarantee Agency, further enabling investment de-risking across the continent.
Drawing on Africa’s rights
One avenue that Adesina views with optimism is the reallocation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), auxiliary foreign exchange reserve assets established by the Fund, which he identifies as potentially a “magic bullet to address global financing challenges.” SDRs were issued during the 2008 financial crisis and in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, with Africa receiving $33 billion, or 4.5% of the total global allocation of $650 billion.
Adesina is not solitary in believing that unused resources from the Fund should be directed to countries in need, but he has taken it upon himself as a personal mission. “I always felt that SDRs could be maximized because in a world with dwindling concessional financing, leverage is vital. We need to achieve leverage at little to no cost to taxpayers.”
To optimize their impact, the Bank has created a framework allowing SDRs to be redirected to multilateral development banks, complementing existing IMF mechanisms like the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust and the Resilience and Sustainability Trust.
“The beauty of this arrangement is its potential for four-fold leveraging; however, as it’s hybrid capital, combined with the co-financing from our triple-A rated financial institution, the actual leverage could reach up to eight times.”
The framework crafted by the Bank also ensures that SDRs retain their status as reserve assets and includes provisions for retrieving funds should beneficiaries encounter liquidity issues. Adesina asserts that these solutions have received both staff and board approvals. “We are passionately pursuing this and I’m genuinely pleased… we must remain flexible with instruments and utilize them to maximize global benefits,” he emphasizes.
Optimist-in-chief fears insecurity
Adesina, who refers to himself as Africa’s “optimist in chief,” states that the Bank will continue to leverage its position to further the continent’s interests.
“I hold high expectations for Africa, as I am confident in the continent’s capacity, potential, and the essential need for Africa to assert its identity globally and unlock its abundant assets. The goal is to keep accelerating and delivering more,” he asserts. Nevertheless, Adesina acknowledges his concerns regarding threats to peace and security. Recent years have witnessed escalating instability across the continent, highlighted by devastating conflicts in Ethiopia and Sudan, as well as coups and unrest in the Sahel.
Many underlying political tensions can be attributed to the scarcity of jobs and opportunities for Africa’s expanding youth population. While allocating resources to address some immediate effects and causes, the Bank is also exploring long-term and sustainable solutions to youth unemployment.
“We cannot have 477 million young individuals aged 15 to 35 without providing them with financial support. That’s why we are implementing what we term Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks.”
These banks will offer financial backing, technical assistance, and incubation services for youth-led ventures, supplying equity, debt, and other financial instruments while supporting them throughout their business development stages. An initial funding of $16 million for Liberia and $100 million for Nigeria has been approved by the Bank’s board of directors, with plans for expansion to Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Kenya, and Tunisia. Six decades after its establishment, the Bank continues to discover new and innovative pathways to fulfill its foundational mission, all while navigating the ever-evolving global and local economic landscape. Adesina remains assured that the Bank will persist in contributing to Africa’s resurgence.
“I would assert that the African Development Bank must continue enhancing its capacity across all these domains. We’ve succeeded thus far, but I believe we need to achieve even more as we progress,” he pledges.