Nairobi Kenya hosted the 59th Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AFDB).
Over 3,000 participants from 82 countries attended the 5-day event.
A Reform of the Global Financial Architecture to take into account climate-related challenges was high on the agenda this year.
The Afdb says that African countries should mobilize 213 billion dollars annually from the private sector to bridge the climate financing gap by 2030.
This is a priority for the bank’s outgoing president.
” I think it’s very important that we realize that the world we are in, we are custodians of it, not for ourselves, but for the future generation that are coming,” Akinwumi Adesina said.
“And that future generation, they’re already here. We have 477 million Africans, young people below the age of 35, from 15 to 35. We have to make sure that we are able to build climate resilience for Africa. We also have to make sure that we make the young people part of the solution, not just people that are dependent on others. And that’s why at the African Development Bank, we have a program that supports young people to set up businesses on climate adaptation, climate mitigation. We provided financing to be able to do that.”
The Nigerian will end his second 5-year term in 2025.
Another key issue this year was a capital increase.
The AfBD’s highest decision-making organ urged its governors to “deepen discussions” on growing the Bank’s callable capital, a key condition for maintaining its triple-A rating.
The rating is a prerequisite for borrowing on the financial markets.
The call was echoed by Kenyan president William Ruto. In a show of support, Ruto announced that thsi country will spend $100 million over the next three years to increase its shareholding in the African Development Bank, Afreximbank and Trade Development Bank.
The leader called for a revaluation of the GDP of African States that would factor the countries’ ressources.
During the annual meetings, the African Development Bank Group unveiled its new Ten-Year Strategy 2024–2033. The 90-page-long document is a blueprint to confront Africa’s pressing challenges and to help put the continent firmly back on track towards sustained economic growth and prosperity.