Africa-Press – Ghana. The African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional financing arm of the African Development Bank Group, has secured a record $11 billion from 43 partners for its 17th replenishment (ADF-17), the largest in the Fund’s history, despite severe global fiscal constraints and declining aid budgets.
The outcome represents a 23 per cent increase over the previous replenishment and signals confidence in Africa’s development prospects, the Bank Group’s leadership, and a new model centred on investment, risk-sharing, and scale.
“This is not just a replenishment,” said Dr Sidi Ould Tah, President of the African Development Bank Group. “It is a turning point. In one of the most difficult global environments for development finance, our partners chose ambition over retrenchment, and investment over inertia.”
Africa steps forward as a co-investor in its own future
For the first time in the Fund’s history, 23 African countries have made unprecedented contributions to their own concessional financing window.
A total of $182.7 million was pledged by African countries, with 19 contributing for the first time, alongside long-standing regional contributors. This represents a five-fold increase compared to the previous replenishment.
“This is not symbolic,” Dr Ould Tah said. “This is transformational. Africa is no longer only a beneficiary of concessional finance. Africa is a co-investor in its own future.”
From aid to investment: a new financial era
ADF-17 introduces a structural shift in how concessional resources will be deployed. Partners endorsed a new financial model that allows the Fund to leverage its balance sheet, operationalise a Market Borrowing Option, deploy hybrid capital, and use concessional finance strategically to absorb risk and crowd in private capital.
Each dollar invested through the Fund already unlocks more than $2.50 in co-financing and private capital, a ratio expected to increase under the new model.
New generation of partnerships
ADF-17 also anchors large-scale concessional co-financing partnerships. Commitments include up to $800 million from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and up to $2 billion from the OPEC Fund for International Development.
These partnerships signal a new era of scaled, risk-sharing collaboration, strengthening the Fund’s ability to deliver transformational projects in challenging environments.
Delivering impact where it matters most
Resources mobilised under ADF-17 will support 37 low-income and fragile African countries, focusing on energy access, food security, human capital, regional integration, and resilient infrastructure.
Targeted support will continue for countries facing fragility through the Transition Support Facility.
Global confidence in Africa’s future
Co-hosted by the United Kingdom and Ghana, the London pledging session concluded a year-long replenishment process amid global uncertainty.
Baroness Jenny Chapman, UK Minister of State for International Development and Africa, said: “The UK is proud to co-host the 17th replenishment of the African Development Fund alongside Ghana.
We have a long-standing partnership with the African Development Bank and support it in driving sustainable and inclusive growth on the continent.”
Thomas Nyarko Ampem, Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Finance, described the Fund as “a strategic instrument to reduce vulnerability on the continent.”
Dr Ould Tah added: “This replenishment goes beyond aid. It is a strategic investment, with measurable returns in stability, growth, trade, and global resilience.”
Established in 1972, the African Development Fund has provided more than $45 billion in grants, concessional loans, and guarantees to Africa’s lowest-income countries.
It remains a cornerstone of African-led multilateral development finance and a central instrument of the African Development Bank Group’s mission to drive inclusive and sustainable growth across the continent.
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