HISTORY, FUNCTIONS AND MEMBERSHIP OF THE MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTION IN AFRICA, AfDB 

Did you know that the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) founded in 1964 has 27 non-African member countries, and that the bank comprises of three entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF)?

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB or ADB) or Banque Africaine de Développement (BAD), a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014, is a financial provider to African governments and private companies investing in the regional member countries (RMC).

Following the end of the colonial period in Africa, a growing desire for more unity within the continent led to the establishment of two draft charters, one for the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, established in 1963, later replaced by the African Union, AU), and for a regional development bank.

A draft accord was submitted to top African officials then to the Conference of Finance Ministers on the Establishment of an African Development Bank. This conference was convened by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Khartoum, Sudan, from 31 July to 4 August. It was here that the agreement establishing the African Development Bank (AfDB) was cosigned by twenty-three African governments on 4 August 1963. The agreement came into force on 10 September 1964.

The inaugural meeting of the Board of Governors of the Bank was held from 4 to 7 November 1964 in Lagos, Nigeria. The Bank's headquarters opened in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in March 1965 and the Bank's operations commenced on 1 July 1966.

From February 2003 to September 2014, the Bank operated from its Temporary Relocation Agency in Tunis, Tunisia, owing to the prevailing political conflict in Ivory Coast during the Ivorian civil war at the time. The Bank was able to return to its original headquarters in Abidjan in late 2013 once the political crisis was over.

By June 2015, over 1,500 staff had returned to the Bank's Abidjan headquarters out of the more than 1,900 total staff the Bank employs. Although, originally, only African countries were able to join the bank, since 1982 it has allowed the entry of non-African countries as well.

Since its founding, AfDB has financed 2,885 operations, for a total of $47.5 billion. In 2003, it received an AAA rating from the major financial rating agencies and had a capital of $32.043 billion. In November 2019, the bank's capital was reported as $208 billion.

The AfDB's mission is to fight poverty and improve living conditions on the continent through promoting the investment of public and private capital in projects and programs that are likely to contribute to the economic and social development of the region.

The primary function of AfDB is making loans and equity investments for the socio-economic advancement of the RMC. Second, the bank provides technical assistance for development projects and programs. Third, it promotes investment of public and private capital for development. Fourth, the bank assists in organizing the development policies of RMCs. The AfDB is also required to give special attention to national and multinational projects which are needed to promote regional integration.

The AfDB comprises three entities: The African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF)

AfDB Beneficiary countries are: Algeria, Botswana, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Gabon, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, and Tunisia.

ADF beneficiary countries are: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, DR Congo, Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.

AfDB and ADF beneficiary countries are: Nigeria, and Zimbabwe. Note that all countries in the African Union including Mauritania but excluding the SADR (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) are eligible for NTF benefits.

Non-African member countries are: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States.

Source:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Development_Bank