The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and ODI Global have entered a strategic partnership to develop financing instruments and policy solutions aimed at helping African countries tackle rising debt pressures, high borrowing costs and declining access to concessional finance.
The partnership, formalised through a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), will combine the AfDB Group’s operational and financing experience with ODI Global’s independent research to develop practical approaches to reducing the cost of capital, mobilising private investment and expanding financing options for vulnerable economies.
The agreement comes as African countries face growing pressure to finance infrastructure, energy, climate action and economic transformation while contending with tighter financing conditions and limited access to affordable long-term capital.
The two institutions will examine how reforms to multilateral development banks and Africa’s broader financial architecture can improve access to finance.
Their work will also explore financing instruments capable of expanding capital-market access and increasing the use of blended and concessional finance.
“Designing financing around the realities of African economies is what turns ambition into results,” said Dr Sidi Ould Tah, President of the African Development Bank Group.
He said the partnership with ODI Global would combine rigorous independent analysis with practical financing instruments capable of addressing Africa’s development needs.
The collaboration will assess how multilateral development banks can mobilise more private capital through mechanisms including portfolio offloading, insurance, guarantees and other risk-sharing instruments.
It also builds on previous collaboration between the two institutions through the Group of 20 and other multilateral platforms on capital adequacy, callable capital and balance-sheet optimisation.
The AfDB and ODI Global said the partnership would go beyond individual projects, establishing a longer-term relationship aimed at influencing global discussions around concessional financing and the effectiveness of development finance institutions.
For African economies, the issue is increasingly urgent.
Many countries are being asked to invest simultaneously in economic transformation, climate resilience, infrastructure and social development while facing higher borrowing costs and mounting debt obligations.
Dr Sara Pantuliano CMG, Chief Executive at ODI Global, said African countries need greater financial room to determine their investment priorities without deepening their vulnerabilities.
“Many African countries are being asked to invest in economic transformation, resilience and climate action while facing high borrowing costs, rising debt pressures and declining access to concessional finance,” she said.
Pantuliano said combining the AfDB’s operational expertise with ODI Global’s independent research could help identify reforms that give countries greater flexibility to pursue their development priorities.
Joint research under the partnership will feed into policy notes, meetings and discussions linked to replenishments of the African Development Fund (ADF), the AfDB Group’s concessional financing window for low-income African countries.
The work is also expected to support reforms designed to make the Fund more responsive to financing constraints, strengthen private-sector development and mobilise additional resources.
