Five AfDB regional member countries set to join African Development Fund replenishment

( AfDB) - The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Sudan plan to contribute $1 million each to ADF’s next replenishment cycle

Five African Development Bank Governors have signed an agreement committing to contribute at least $1 million to the replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional window of the Bank Group.

Under the self-initiated agreement, the five-member constituency—The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Sudan—will contribute to the ADF from its next replenishment cycle in 2025.

With nearly half its client countries as fragile states, the African Development Fund contributes to poverty reduction and economic and social development in least-developed African countries by providing concessional funding for projects and programs.

The signing took place on the sidelines of the African Development Bank Group’s 2023 Annual Meetings in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh.

The agreement was signed by the African Development Bank Governors or Temporary Governors for the five countries, namely: Seedy Keita, Finance Minister of The Gambia; Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, Minister of State at the Finance Ministry (signing on behalf of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta); Augustus Flomo, Deputy Minister for Economic Management of Liberia (signing on behalf of Finance Minister Samuel Tweah); Bockarie Kalokoh, Deputy Finance Minister of Sierra Leone (signing on behalf of Finance Minister Sheku Bangura); and Mohammed Bashar, Sudan’s Undersecretary of Economic Planning (signing on behalf of Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim).

The agreement highlights domestic revenue mobilization as a priority. It requires member countries to allocate at least $3 million yearly to prop up internal revenue flows, which in turn, will unlock more funds for accelerated development. Another priority area is expanding local private sector-led economic growth through support for small businesses, it said...Read more on Ecofin Agency

Source: Ecofin Agency