The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) signed a 2026–2031 memorandum of understanding on Thursday, scaling a partnership that has delivered €2.4 billion across 17 projects since 2021.
According to a joint press statement released by the AfDB at the Paris Peace Forum, the agreement expands co-financing across 14 African countries while adding artificial intelligence and critical minerals to their mandate.
AfDB President Dr. Sidi Ould Tah and AFD Chief Executive Officer Christophe Lecourtier formalized the pact to move more infrastructure and private-sector projects from early preparation to bankable execution.
Energy projects currently represent nearly half of the duo’s joint portfolio since 2021. AFD has also committed €1 billion to Mission 300, an AfDB-World Bank drive connecting 300 million Africans to power by 2030.
Active co-financed assets include Chad’s 30-megawatt-peak Qair solar plants, Tanzania’s 88-megawatt Kakono hydropower project, and major transport corridors linking Abidjan-Lagos and Lobito.
Beyond physical infrastructure, the partners back Nigeria’s Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises programme and South African vaccine manufacturer Biovac.
The 2026–2031 framework introduces blended finance, guarantees, and carbon finance to crowd in private capital and close Africa’s estimated $400 billion annual development financing gap.
This pact aligns with the AfDB’s newly launched New African Financial Architecture for Development, which seeks to fix financial fragmentation across the continent.
Earlier this week in Paris, the AfDB also unveiled its Diaspora Initiative to channel overseas remittances and institutional capital into high-impact domestic projects.
Under the new deal, both institutions will deploy joint technical assistance and policy dialogue to reduce lending risks for small businesses, women, and young entrepreneurs.
France has partnered with the AfDB since joining the African Development Fund in 1977, formalizing bilateral cooperation in 2008 before previous renewals in 2021.
