ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, February 28, 2025/APO Group/ –The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) Group has signed an agreement to become an implementing entity of the Pandemic Fund (https://apo-opa.co/4h0TQu3). This enables the Bank to coordinate financing of the Fund’s approved projects in Africa, as well as to participate in a call for proposals for financing investments scheduled to launch next month.

The financial procedures agreement, signed in January with the World Bank Group (the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development acted as a trustee for the Pandemic Fund), qualifies the African Development Bank to participate in a share of $500 million in Fund Secretariat financing for proposals for pandemic-related programs, projects and policies, with a focus on low and middle-income countries.

The Pandemic Fund is a partnership among donor countries, co-investors, foundations and civil society organizations hosted by the World Bank. The World Health Organization acts as the technical lead. The Fund assists countries and regions to strengthen their health systems and increase their investments, enabling them to boost pandemic prevention, preparedness and response capacities.

“There is growing demand from African countries for support to overcome gaps in national health infrastructure exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic and other health crises. As a Pandemic Fund implementing entity, the African Development Bank is capitalizing on our experience combining infrastructure financing with complementary support to improve the quality of life for the people of Africa,” said Dr. Beth Dunford, Bank Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development.

The Fund’s call for proposals will be in phases: the first phase will be open to single and multi-country proposals in March 2025; the second phase launches in June 2025 for regional proposals.

To date, the Pandemic Fund has financed two calls for proposals and approved 47 projects impacting 75 countries in six regions across the globe. On average, 43 percent of its resources have been allocated for countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the region with the highest demand for Pandemic Fund grants. Under the second call for proposals, more than half of the funds awarded went to sub-Saharan Africa.

As an implementing entity, the African Development Bank will also play an oversight role, providing implementation support to beneficiary implementing organisations, as well as providing financial and progress reports to the Fund’s Governing Board.

The Bank’s collaboration with the Pandemic Fund aligns with its Strategy for Quality Health Infrastructure in Africa that seeks to enhance healthcare infrastructure and improve health outcomes in Africa.

In June 2023, the Bank approved approximately $124 million in financing for healthcare access expansion in Morocco. The country’s “Program to Support Inclusive Access to Healthcare Infrastructure” inboosts the country’s specialized healthcare services in women and children’s centers, supports building and equipping hospitals, and equips remote sites with telemedicine and teleconsultation facilities.

Dunford says continued collaborating with the Pandemic Fund can help more Africans experience the benefits of strengthened healthcare systems.

“As Africa’s premier financial institution, we are ready to provide relevant support to beneficiary implementing organisations, the Bank’s regional member countries, and regional economic communities in the Pandemic Fund’s third call for proposals. The Bank will leverage resources from the Fund, alongside our funding instruments, for bigger and better results,” she added.

The Pandemic Fund was established in September 2022 with the Bank participating as an observer and formally announced two months later at the Group of 20 (G20) meetings in Bali, Indonesia.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, February 28, 2025/APO Group/ –In a recent interview (https://apo-opa.co/3QYQmxL) with CNBC Africa, Amadou Hott (www.AmadouHott.com), a leading candidate for the presidency of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has outlined a comprehensive strategy to revolutionize the Bank’s interaction with the private sector, recognizing its pivotal role in driving African development and African integration.

Hott presented one of the key pillars of his proposed action plan: the creation of a dedicated Bank complex, at vice presidency level, for private sector operations. This innovative approach aims to streamline and enhance the AfDB’s engagement with businesses operating across the continent, from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to large conglomerates. Currently, the Bank’s non-sovereign operations represent roughly 20% of the overall volume of its operations.

“It is only by working with the private sector that we can address debt vulnerability, enable job creation, and take the African Development Fund to the market. This dedicated vice-presidency could also become an ally in supporting countries’ endeavors to transform informal segments of their economies,” Hott told CNBC Africa’s Fifi Peters on the sidelines of the Finance in Common Summit in Cape Town this week.

By establishing this specialized complex, Hott aims to facilitate more efficient collaboration between the Bank and private businesses, and to develop tailored credit lines and guarantees towards African banks. These collaborations are aimed at supporting job creation and the growth of Africa’s private sector.

The proposed vice-presidency for private sector operations reflects Hott’s deep understanding of both African development challenges and the inner workings of the African Development Bank Group. His resume speaks to his extensive experience working at and with the Bank:

• He served as the first Vice-President of the African Development Bank Group’s complex dedicated to the energy sector, climate, and green growth.
• He was Governor of the Bank while serving as Senegal’s Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation.
• He served as Special Envoy for Climate and for the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa.

Additional Key Pillars of Hott’s Strategy 

Amadou Hott’s visionary approach to leading the African Development Bank promises to usher in a new era of collaboration between the public and private sectors, potentially catalyzing unprecedented economic growth and development across the African continent. Hott’s comprehensive plan for the AfDB extends beyond private sector engagement, encompassing several other critical areas. These include fast-tracking the delivery of projects related to universal energy access, enhancing resource mobilization through hybrid capital, and improving institutional capacity building by strengthening the Bank’s internal capabilities to better serve its member countries.

Senegal’s Amadou Hott pitches for AfDB presidency: https://apo-opa.co/3QYQmxL

CAIRO, Egypt, February 28, 2025/APO Group/ –Afreximbank (www.Afreximbank.com) is pleased to announce the launch of its new documentary series titled – Impact Stories, which aims to showcase the development impact of the Bank’s interventions across various sectors and countries on the continent and in the diaspora. Season One of the series consists of six episodes which went on air on Afreximbank TV (https://apo-opa.co/43aD48x) on 27th February 2025.

Produced by the Afreximbank TV team and CNN’s Create Studio services, the series aims to spotlight the Bank’s interventions, incorporating multi-faceted narratives that bring the Bank’s initiatives to life. Through testimonials of individuals, businesses, communities and economies that have been positively impacted by the interventions, the series creates an emotional connection, and a shared commitment of an African vision focused on transforming trade and economic self-determination.

Filmed across six countries and sectors, the inaugural season consists of six episodes that showcase some of Afreximbank’s development impact through inspiring short documentary-style films. The episodes feature the Zimborders Beitbridge project which involves the expansion, upgrade and improvement of Beitbridge Border Post in Zimbabwe, exploring the transformative effect of Afreximbank’s investment in modernising the border post, and showing how improved infrastructure is addressing trade inefficiencies, fostering intra-African trade and driving regional growth.

Other episodes include the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ) in Benin, a project led by Afreximbank investee company, Arise Integrated Industrial Platform (Arise IIP) focused on driving industrialisation, job creation and end-to-end production on the continent; an episode on Oando PLC, showcasing their successful acquisition in a key Nigerian oil sector joint venture and its transformative impact on local content and economic prosperity, as well as other episodes focused on Eva’s Coffee in Kenya, an SME business driving export development and local value chain expansion; Reine Ablaa – a rising music star and alumni of Afreximbank’s CANEX Music factory initiative and an episode on the ongoing success of the Bank’s Pan African Payments and Settlement System (PAPSS).

Mrs. Anne Ezeh, Director of Communications and Events at Afreximbank emphasised the Bank’s transformative role stating: “Afreximbank was founded to drive Africa’s economic independence through trade and trade-enabling infrastructure. For the past thirty-two years, we have consistently translated that mandate into impactful projects and initiatives across the continent. The Impact Stories series represents an avenue to showcase the tangible progress we are making to transform the economic fortunes of the African people while reminding us of the development challenges that remain.”

Impact storytelling goes beyond traditional creative metrics; it’s about people and economies whose everyday realities have been positively impacted by projects and developmental interventions. Compelling impact storytelling combines data, evidence, and personal stories, making them potent tools for advocating positive shifts and motivating others to champion a cause.

The first episode went on air on February 27th on Afreximbank TV, and new episodes will be released weekly.