African Development Bank and French Agency Sign Six-Year Africa Investment Deal

November 13, 2026 | By Semahegn Nigatu

The African Development Bank Group and France’s Agence Française de Développement (AFD) have signed a six-year agreement to expand joint financing of development projects across Africa, with priorities including energy, transport, agriculture and industrial development.

The memorandum of understanding, signed on November 10 on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum, covers the 2026-2031 period. It builds on a partnership that has supported 17 jointly financed projects in 14 African countries since 2021.

Under the agreement, the two institutions plan to work together from the early stages of project development, combining financing with technical advice, project preparation, policy dialogue and capacity building. They also intend to improve coordination in project management, monitoring and knowledge transfer.

The partnership identifies infrastructure for energy transition, transport, water and sanitation, and regional connectivity as priority areas. Agriculture, industry, private sector development, entrepreneurship, access to finance and job creation are also included, with particular attention to women and young people.

The agreement further covers critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, digital infrastructure, data governance and the responsible use of artificial intelligence, alongside climate resilience, biodiversity, health, education and governance.

African Development Bank Group President Sidi Ould Tah said the cooperation would help channel investment into infrastructure that connects markets, strengthens African value chains and creates employment.

"Peace and development are built together, and delivering on Africa’s priorities requires close collaboration," Ould Tah said.

Christophe Lecourtier, chief executive officer of the AFD Group, said the two institutions intended to increase financing for strategic infrastructure, particularly in energy and transport, to support industrial development and job creation.

The agreement also provides for cooperation on blended finance, guarantees, catalytic finance and carbon finance to attract additional public and private investment. The institutions will explore access to European financial instruments and co-financing platforms involving the Bank Group, European institutions and African partners.

Energy has accounted for nearly half of the two institutions’ joint financing since 2021. AFD has committed one billion euros to Mission 300, an initiative of the African Development Bank Group and the World Bank that aims to connect an additional 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa to electricity by 2030.

Their existing projects include two Qair solar projects in Chad with a combined capacity of 30 megawatts peak and the 88-megawatt Kakono hydropower project in Tanzania.

The institutions are also providing complementary financing for regional transport corridors, including Abidjan-Lagos, Abidjan-Ouagadougou and Lobito, aimed at improving regional integration and trade.

In Nigeria, they have jointly financed the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises programme. In Côte d’Ivoire, their cooperation includes initiatives supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and industrialisation.

In the health sector, the partnership has supported Biovac, a South African biopharmaceutical company expanding local vaccine production and pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity.

The relationship between the two institutions was first formalised in 2008 and renewed in 2021. France joined the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional financing window, in 1977 and the African Development Bank in 1983.

Source: FSX Business News