<\/p>\n
The institutions signed a memorandum of understanding covering 2026 to 2031 on November 10 on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The agreement builds on cooperation that has supported 17 jointly financed projects across 14 African countries since 2021.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The AfDB and AFD will jointly assess prospective projects from the earliest stages and maintain coordination throughout implementation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The institutions will combine financing with project preparation, technical advice, policy dialogue and capacity building to develop a stronger pipeline of investment-ready projects.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Priority areas include energy-transition infrastructure, transport, water and sanitation, regional connectivity, agriculture and industrial development.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The partnership will also support entrepreneurship, access to finance and employment creation, particularly for women and young people.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, digital infrastructure, data governance and responsible artificial intelligence will form part of the programme. \u201cThe Paris Peace Forum is a fitting setting to renew our cooperation with AFD,\u201d AfDB President Dr Sidi Ould Tah said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cTogether, we will continue to direct capital towards infrastructure that connects markets, strengthens African value chains and creates jobs for Africa\u2019s young people.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The agreement provides for greater use of blended finance, guarantees, catalytic financing and carbon finance to mobilise additional public and private capital.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The institutions will also explore European financing instruments and co-financing platforms involving African and European partners.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AFD Group Chief Executive Christophe Lecourtier said the partnership would increase financing for strategic infrastructure, particularly in the energy and transport sectors. \u201cTogether, we aim to step up financing for strategic infrastructure to support industrial development, job creation and long-term economic growth,\u201d Lecourtier said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Energy has accounted for nearly half of joint financing since 2021.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AFD has also committed approximately $1.1 billion to Mission 300, the AfDB and World Bank initiative seeking to connect another 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa to electricity by 2030.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Existing projects include solar installations in Chad, hydropower development in Tanzania and financing for the Abidjan-Lagos, Abidjan-Ouagadougou and Lobito transport corridors.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The institutions are also supporting digital and creative enterprises in Nigeria, small businesses and industrial development in C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire and expanded vaccine manufacturing through South African biopharmaceutical company Biovac.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–AfDB\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":50814,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-50813","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and Agence Fran\u00e7aise de D\u00e9veloppement (AFD) have renewed a partnership aimed at mobilising more financing for infrastructure, employment and private-sector development across Africa.","published_date":"","news_description":"The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and Agence Fran\u00e7aise de D\u00e9veloppement (AFD) have renewed a partnership aimed at mobilising more financing for infrastructure, employment and private-sector development across Africa.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/50813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/50813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50816,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/50813\/revisions\/50816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=50813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}