AfDB and ODI Global Join Forces to Tackle Africa's Debt

The African Development Bank Group and ODI Global have formalized a partnership to develop financing instruments and policy approaches to assist African countries in managing rising debt pressures and high borrowing costs. This collaboration, announced via a statement on the African Development Bank’s website, is formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding.

The partnership aims to leverage the Bank Group’s operational experience alongside ODI Global’s independent research to create practical solutions for capital costs and private capital mobilization. The institutions will explore how multilateral development banks and Africa’s financial architecture can enhance access to finance, focusing on financing instruments that expand capital-market access.

They will assess methods used by multilateral development banks to mobilize private capital, including risk-sharing mechanisms. This partnership builds on previous collaborations and aims to influence global discussions on concessional financing.

The joint research will support policy notes and discussions related to the African Development Fund, which provides concessional financing for low-income African countries, and will complement the implementation of the New African Financial Architecture for Development.