African Development Bank

Fintech firms M-Kopa, Pula get US$1.3m in grants from AfDB for market research

March 18, 2021March 18, 2021 Frank

KENYA – Financial technology firms M-Kopa and Pula Advisors are set to receive grants totalling $1.3 million from a fund backed by the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) to conduct market research on women access to digital financial services. Pula, which offers insurance and digital products to help small-scale farmers, will receive US$1 million while mobile phone-based solar kit reseller M-Kopa will get US$300,000. Pula was founded by Rose Goslinga and Thomas Njeru in 2015. The research by the two companies will seek to find ways of enhancing women’s access to digital financial services…

AfDB named World’s Best Multilateral Financial Institution 2021 by Global Finance

March 10, 2021March 10, 2021 Frank

AFRICA – Prestigious U.S. magazine, Global Finance, specializing in financial markets and investment banking, has named the African Development Bank (AfDB) as the “Best Multilateral Financial Institution in the world for 2021.” The award is a global recognition for the path breaking efforts of the African Development Bank as it transforms itself into a solutions bank for Africa, through a combination of its operations, knowledge services and investment positioning, which continue to help accelerate Africa’s development. The award is an affirmation of the success of the operational strategy being pursued by…

AfDB approves US$1.3m grant for research efforts to enhance women’s digital access to loans and micro-insurance

March 10, 2021March 10, 2021 Frank

AFRICA – The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved two grants for research that will increase African women’s access to a range of digital financial services including loans and micro-insurance. The grants, for US$1 million and US$300,000 respectively, will be disbursed through the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility (ADFI), a blended finance vehicle supported by AfDB, to two financial technology firms, Pula Advisors Kenya Ltd., and M-KOPA Kenya Ltd. Pula Advisors will use the US$1 million for research of social, cultural, and economic factors that impact women farmers’ access to…

AfDB and JICA sign US$668.1m loan agreement to replenish African Development Fund

February 18, 2021February 18, 2021 Frank

AFRICA – The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional arm of the African Development Bank Group have signed a loan agreement of US$668.1 million to support the 15th replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF-15). During a virtual ceremony, African Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina and Japanese Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire Kuramitsu Hideaki signed an Exchange of Notes, while the loan agreement was signed by the JICA Chief Representative in Côte d’Ivoire, Fujino Kojiro, and Acting African Development Bank Group Senior…

AfDB & EIB ink deal to boost infrastructure investment in Africa

January 23, 2021January 23, 2021 Frank

AFRICA – The African Development Bank (AfDB) and European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed a joint partnership action plan highlighting their strengthened cooperation and mutual development priorities and a strong shared emphasis on boosting public and private sector investment in Africa. The Joint Action Plan enables the two financial institutions to grow a shared pipeline of bankable projects around key complementary themes to which each institution would bring their comparative advantage. These themes are: climate action and environmental sustainability; transformative large-scale quality infrastructure investment; Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure and services;…

Kenya launches US$13m water project in Bomet County

January 23, 2021January 23, 2021 Frank

KENYA – The government of Kenya has launched a US$13 million water and sanitation project in Bomet County in western Kenya which will benefit three towns. The water project is being financed with a loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and is being implemented by the Lake Victoria South Water Works Development Agency (LVSWWD), an agency of the Kenyan Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation. In Bomet County, the new water and sanitation facilities will benefit 216,850 people, mainly in the towns of Bomet, Longisa and Mulot where work…

Equity Bank receives US$50m from FMO for SME lending

January 13, 2021January 13, 2021 Frank

KENYA – Equity Bank Kenya has secured US$50 million from the Dutch Development Bank (FMO) for onward lending to small and medium-sized firms hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Announcing the long-term funding, whose interest rate was not disclosed, FMO said the facility would uplift Equity Bank’s lending to the perceived risky small enterprises, who have been hard hit by the economic effects of the pandemic thus lowering their ability to save and tap loans. “We are very happy to be able to support Equity Bank Kenya in weathering the Covid-19…

AfDB pledges to mobilise US$6.5b in support of the Sahel’s Great Green Wall initiative

January 12, 2021 Frank

AFRICA – The Sahel region’s Great Green Wall Initiative received a major boost from the African Development Bank this week when the bank pledged to assist in mobilising up to US$6.5 billion over five years, to advance the landmark initiative. The resources will be made available through a range of programmes in support of the Great Green Wall by drawing on internal as well as external sources of funding, such as the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), among others. Multilateral development partners joined…

African Development Bank appoints Aissa Touré as country manager for Rwanda

December 21, 2020December 21, 2020 Frank

RWANDA – The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced the appointment of Ms. Aissa Touré as country manager for Rwanda. An economist and development expert, Aissa Touré, the country manager designated for Rwanda, a Senegalese national, brings to the bank over 25 years of experience, working in three continents and 12 countries for 5 international organizations. Aissa’s work experience covers rural development, particularly agriculture, rural economics and climate adaptation and mitigation, among others. She brings a solid set of skills in strategic management, institutional representation and partnership management at country,…

AfDB gives US$7m in Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa technical assistance to transform mini-grid investment in Africa

December 21, 2020December 21, 2020 Frank

AFRICA – The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank have given a US$7 million grant from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), for technical assistance in setting up a mini-grid acceleration initiative to meet the needs of the continent’s fast-evolving renewable mini-grid industry. The Africa Mini-Grid Market Acceleration Program (AMAP), which aims to boost energy access in remote regions and enhance climate resilience throughout Africa, will include three core components: the implementation of a new and standardized framework for national-scale Mini-Grid Acceleration Programmes (MAPs) in four countries; the…