African Development Bank – Everything you need to know

The African Development Bank (ADB) is a financial institution that supports economic and social development among its regional member countries (RMCs). Its RMCs comprises 54 African and 26 non-African countries. African Development Bank does this through equity investments, loans, and other technical assistance.

Since its establishment in 1964, the African Development Bank has helped fight poverty and improve living conditions across Africa. In the larger scale of things, the African Development Bank Group comprises African Development Fund, Nigeria Trust Fund, and the African Development Bank.

The bank has its headquarters in Tunisia.

African Development Bank Goals

Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere.

Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security, and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Goal 8 Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Goal 9. Reduce inequality within and among countries

Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries

Goal 11. Make cities and human settlement inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

African Development Bank – sectors and focus

The African Development Bank focuses on the following sectors across its Regional member countries:

1. Agriculture and agro-industries
2. Climate change
3. Economic and financial governance
4. Education
5. Energy and power
6. Environment
7. Human capital development
8. Health
9. Information and communication technology
10. Infrastructure
11. Gender
12. Private sector
13. Transport
14. Water supply and sanitation

And also the following topics in its RMCs

1. Civil society
2. Ebola
3. Employment
4. Environmental, social and governance (ESG)
5. Financial crisis
6. Food production
7. Independent development evaluation
8. Independent review mechanism (IRM)
9. Industrialization
10. Millennium development goals (MDGs)
11. Nutrition
12. Partnership and poverty reduction
13. Quality assurance and results
14. Regional integration
15. Sanctions system
16. Structural transformation
17. Youth

Projects embarked on by the African Development Bank

Although, there are close to 100 projects ongoing and concluded by the ADB, we would just be listing a few (most recent). They are:

1. Desert to power program (DtP): 

The ADB  initiated this program back in 2017 and has an aim to light up and power the Sahel. The goal is to build a 10GW power capacity through photovoltaic solar systems.

2. Partnership with Korea to boost rural economies:

This initiative provides loans to local village farmers to help expand their businesses.

3. Clean water, and sanitation services in rural Somalia: 

Somalia is an arid nation and is why this initiative is based there. It provides clean water for rural and urban residents to help ease arid conditions and famine.

Conclusion

The African Development Bank has done investment so much in its regional country members (RMCs). For example, helping economic growth at large. 

They are a major force in the public and private sector and provided significant development of infrastructure across the continent.