The African Development Bank Group and UK Export Finance signed a memorandum of understanding on Oct. 21 in Conakry to co-finance projects across Africa, the two institutions said.

Abdul Kamara, officer in charge and vice president of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), and Tim Reid, chief executive of UK Export Finance (UKEF), signed the agreement. They did so on the sidelines of the fifth UK–West and Central Francophone Africa Trade and Investment Forum (WCAF V), the AfDB said in a statement.

The AfDB said it is the first framework agreement between the two institutions.

What the agreement covers

The memorandum sets out how the two bodies will identify, assess and develop co-financing opportunities, the AfDB said. It covers sovereign operations, which involve government borrowers, and non-sovereign operations, which typically involve private-sector projects.

The projects would be in the bank’s regional member countries, drawing on each institution’s financial instruments.

Priority areas include energy, infrastructure, water and sanitation, health, digital infrastructure, critical minerals and supply chain resilience, the AfDB said. Agriculture and trade finance are also covered.

The AfDB said the partnership will bring together development finance and export credit to draw additional capital into strategic investments in Africa. An export credit agency is a government-backed body that provides finance and insurance to support exporters.

Officials’ comments

Kamara said Africa’s financing needs call for “partnerships that bring additional capital to the continent at scale.” He said the agreement gives the two institutions’ cooperation a structured framework and opens new opportunities to finance infrastructure and investment.

“Africa’s financing needs call for partnerships that bring additional capital to the continent at scale. This agreement with UK Export Finance gives our cooperation a structured framework and opens new opportunities to finance the infrastructure and investments that will drive Africa’s growth,” said Abdul Kamara, OIC Vice President of the African Development Bank Group.

Reid said the agreement deepens the relationship between UKEF and the AfDB Group. He said combining the institutions’ instruments and expertise can “unlock greater co-financing for the infrastructure, energy and trade priorities” that drive Africa’s growth, according to the statement.

Reid said UKEF is committed to supporting that ambition and that the partnership will allow it to do so at greater scale.

“This agreement deepens the relationship between UK Export Finance and the African Development Bank Group. By combining our financial instruments and expertise, we can unlock greater co-financing for the infrastructure, energy and trade priorities that matter most to Africa’s growth. UKEF is committed to supporting that ambition, and this partnership will help us do so at greater scale”, said Tim Reid, Chief Executive, UK Export Finance.

Link to AfDB strategy

The AfDB said the African Development Bank UK Export Finance partnership supports its efforts to mobilise capital at scale. It said the agreement is in line with the bank’s “Four Cardinal Points” strategic priorities.

The AfDB UK Export Finance agreement also reflects a long-standing relationship between the AfDB Group and Britain, the bank said. The United Kingdom joined the African Development Fund, the group’s concessional financing window, in 1973.

It became a member of the African Development Bank in 1983 and remains a major contributor to the fund, the AfDB said.

UKEF was established in 1919 as the world’s first export credit agency. It provides finance and insurance to support British businesses and is increasingly active in Africa, according to the AfDB statement.

The forum

WCAF V ran from Oct. 19 to 21 in Conakry, according to the event’s organisers. DMA Invest and UKEF organised it in partnership with the Guinean government, according to a Sept. 16 press release published by Forbes Afrique.

The theme was “From Co-operation to Transformation: Building the Future of Development in Africa,” according to the organisers’ website.

Guinean media reported that it was the first edition held in a West African country that is not a member of the Commonwealth. Earlier editions took place in London and Lomé, Guineenews reported. The forum began in 2022.

This year’s edition covered 16 French-speaking countries plus Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea. Trade delegations from more than 42 countries were due to attend, Guineenews reported after the Sept. 18 launch in Conakry.

DMA Invest has said it aimed to bring together more than 1,000 participants, according to an interview published by Forbes Afrique.

Guinea’s Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Ismael Nabe, said at the launch that he wanted the forum to be a place for decisions and co-investment where bankable projects are developed, Guineenews reported.

Guinea hosted the forum as it seeks to advance the Simandou project and the Simandou 2040 vision, which the organisers cited as the backdrop to this year’s event.