AfDB aims to boost infrastructure funding as African growth accelerates

Africa’s economic growth is set to accelerate to 3.7% this year and 4.3% next from 3.1% in 2023, African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina said on Wednesday, expressing hope that the bank can boost infrastructure investment with IMF help. “African economies are experiencing great resilience despite the challenges posed by climate change, geopolitical tensions, global inflation, rising debt, among others,” Adesina told the annual meeting of the bank. In the past nine years the bank has invested over $50 billion in infrastructure projects on the continent, he said.

Adesina said two weeks ago that the International Monetary Fund had approved multilateral banks such as the AfDB lending against the Fund’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) monetary reserves. SDRs are interest-bearing international reserve assets granted to IMF member countries in proportion to their shareholding. “If the approved limit of $20 billion of the SDRs is channelled to multilateral development banks like us, we [the AfDB] can leverage this to deliver at least $80 billion of new financial support,” Adesina said. The bank is helping to raise $3.2 billion for the East Africa standard gauge railway linking Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, he added. It is also providing $500 million towards the development of the Lobito Corridor to connect Zambia, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.