The African Development Bank Group and ODI Global have formalised a partnership to develop financing instruments and policy approaches that respond more closely to the needs of African countries, which are facing constrained official development assistance, rising debt pressures and intensifying climate and economic headwinds.
Under a new Memorandum of Understanding, the two organisations will combine operational analysis with independent policy research to develop practical solutions for Africa’s challenges relating to cost-of-capital, private capital mobilisation, financing for structurally vulnerable and transition contexts, and effective leverage of concessional funds.
African countries face persistent constraints in securing affordable, long-term finance to address infrastructure, energy, private sector growth and economic transformation gaps. High capital costs, limited or fragmented capital markets and growing pressure on concessional resources have intensified the need for reforms, based on the financing priorities and operating realities these countries face.
The partnership brings together the Bank Group’s financing capabilities, operational experience and convening power with ODI Global’s internationally recognised research and policy expertise into development finance reform.
The two institutions have previous experience working together under the auspices of the Group of 20 (G20), and through other multilateral channels on issues related to capital adequacy, callable capital and balance sheet optimisation. The Bank Group and ODI have also made joint contributions to international policy dialogues, including a G20 Africa Engagement Framework Roundtable.
Formalising the relationship moves their engagement from project-based activity toward a long-term strategic partnership that will bring African priorities and experience more directly into global discussions on concessional financing and institutional effectiveness.
“Designing financing around the realities of African economies is what turns ambition into results. The Bank’s course is set by four imperatives: sharper efficiency in how we work, faster delivery on the ground, resource mobilisation at far greater scale, beginning with the continent’s own under the New African Financial Architecture for Development, and impact measured where it reaches people,” said Dr Sidi Ould Tah, President of the African Development Bank Group. “A partnership earns its place when it serves that agenda. This partnership with ODI Global is intended to do precisely that, rigorous, independent analysis put at the service of instruments that work in practice.”
The Bank Group and ODI Global will assess how reforms of multilateral development banks and Africa’s financial architecture can expand access to finance. Comparative research on financing instruments will identify lessons related to capital market access, blended finance and concessional financing solutions.
The collaboration will also explore approaches used by multilateral development banks to mobilise greater volumes of private capital, including portfolio offloading, insurance, guarantees and other risk-sharing arrangements. The two institutions will also draw on the experience of development finance institutions in meeting sovereign and non-sovereign financing needs.
Dr Sara Pantuliano CMG, Chief Executive at ODI Global, said “Many African countries are being asked to invest in economic transformation, resilience and climate action while facing high borrowing costs, rising debt pressures and declining access to concessional finance. By bringing together the African Development Bank Group’s operational experience and ODI Global’s independent research, this partnership will help identify reforms that give countries greater room to determine their own investment priorities, plan for the long term and avoid financing arrangements that deepen vulnerability rather than support lasting development.”
The results of joint research will inform policy notes, meetings and other efforts linked to replenishments of the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional financing window for low-income African countries. Outcomes of the strategic partnership will also shape reforms and innovations aimed at enhancing the Fund’s responsiveness to financing constraints, advance private sector development and mobilise additional resources.
The collaboration is expected to complement the African Development Bank Group’s implementation of the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD) initiative, endorsed under the Abidjan Consensus in April 2026. NAFAD seeks to plug Africa’s $400 billion annual financing gap by tapping the continent’s own resources more effectively: unlocking domestic savings, building continent-wide guarantee and shared-risk systems, while deepening local capital markets.
Source: https://www.afdb.org/
