African Development Bank Group

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) is the regional development bank for Africa. The bank provides loans and grants to African governments and private companies investing in Africa.

Its mission is to help reduce poverty, improve living conditions for Africans and mobilise resources for the continent's economic and social development.

It is owned and funded by 53 African and 24 non-African member governments, including the UK. The UK's shareholding at the AfDB is 1.7%.

Success and value for money

The AfDB has a strong focus on helping developing countries increase what they produce and sell. It works with governments to make it easier to trade and travel between neighbouring countries; and it provides the physical infrastructure, like roads and power supply, so that African countries can continue to develop. The AfDB's unique African ownership and influence is also key to its success.

The African Development Fund (ADF) is the arm of the AfDB that provides lower cost loans and grants to 38 low income African countries.

The UK's multilateral aid review found that the ADF represents good value for money for the UK and is integral to the UK's support to poor African countries. The review also identified the following priorities for reform:

Decentralisation: better staffed country offices who are able to work effectively with governments and donor partners
Result management: a clear focus on delivering results and evaluating the impact of projects, including support to the private sector
Fragile states: improved approaches to work effectively in fragile and conflict affected states.

How we work with the AfDB

Through the AfDB, the UK is able to help more people in the world's poorest countries than we can do on our own.

The ADF receives new funding every three years in a process called a 'replenishment'. The UK doubled its commitment to the ADF during the 2008-10 replenishment. This increased by a further 36% to £567 million (GBP) during the 12th replenishment, which covers the years 2011-13.

The financial support offered by the 12th replenishment will allow the ADF to provide:

57 million people with improved access to transport
29 million people with improved connections to electricity
18 million people with improved access to health services.

UK funding is contributing to projects which include:

Boosting sugar production and employing 8,000 people directly and 32,000 indirectly in Mali
Helping Cape Verde increase the use of renewable energy resources by 50% by 2020; reducing greenhouse gas emissions and replacing expensive diesel generation units
Supporting the preservation of the Congo Basin ecosystems by ensuring that people living in the forests can earn sustainable livelihoods while also slowing the rate of deforestation.

Achievements and results

Between 2006 and 2009, the ADF helped to improve the lives of millions of Africa's poorest people, including:

Water and Sanitation: 5 million people were provided with new or improved access to water and sanitation and 6,600 wells were drilled, rehabilitated and equipped
Education: 11.2 million students were newly enrolled in school and 6.3 million textbooks and teaching materials were supplied
Entrepreneurship: 25,000 microenterprises and 213,000 jobs were created
Health: 8,000 health workers were trained and 13 million people gained access to better health services
Power: 16.6 million people received a new electricity connection
Transport: 42 million people gained improved access to transport and 4,200 km of roads were constructed, rehabilitated or maintained.

On the ground: Water and sanitation in Senegal

Clean water has been recognised by the international community as a human right. Access to clean water and sanitation helps prevent the spread of infectious diseases and is essential for a family's health and hygiene. However, a sixth of the world's population is still without clean water and two fifths do not have adequate sanitation.

The African Development Bank is funding a project in Senegal to provide drinking water and sanitation to 800,000 people. The project will improve drinking water and sanitation services in 240 rural communities located in the regions of Louga, Ziguinchor and Kolda.

Around 17,577 new family and public latrines will be constructed and 79 boreholes will be built or rehabilitated. In addition, the project will train bricklayers, borehole managers and primary school teachers to raise awareness of public hygiene in the regions.

So far, the facilities have helped provide drinking water to 103,000 more people and sanitation access to 36,700 people. The project has already significantly improved the rate of drinking water and sanitation supply, reinforced the involvement of women in the management of water and sanitation facilities, and developed the private sector in the various areas of intervention. In February 2009, the bank approved £31 million (GBP) to extend the project to the southern part of the country.

Last updated: 03 Oct 2011

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