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The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group is gearing up for its 2025 annual meetings, a pivotal event that aims to harness various forms of domestic capital within the continent to push for development.
The foremost statutory meeting of the Bank will be held from May 26-30, 2025, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on the theme: “Making Africa’s capital work better for Africa’s development.” About 6,000 participants, including governors representing 54 African countries and 27 non-African shareholders, will attend the event.
Between 1967 and 2022, AfDB’s cumulative approvals on 6,575 operations amounted to 125.461 billion Unit of Account (UA), which is approximately US$167 billion. As African economies emerge from economic crisis amidst a trade war following the announcement of 10 to 50 per cent tariffs by the United States, the Bank seeks to mobilise and utilise capital from the continent to accelerate growth.
At a prelude press conference on Wednesday, April 9, Professor Kevin Chika Urama, Chief Economist and Vice President for Economic Governance & Knowledge Management, AfDB, echoed the urgency to harness domestic capital. He said the “2025 annual meetings focus is to better harness what Africa already has to drive development on the continent, including its physical resources, financial, human, natural and business capital.”
“The world has become dynamic with policies of other countries and continents affecting everyone else.” The meetings would, therefore, discuss and come out with effective ways Africa could leverage its own capital to meet the needs of the people within a global changing economic landscape, Prof Urama said.
He noted that the ongoing international trade tensions was apt with the event’s theme, which would bring out implementable recommendations on how Africa should respond to the trade tariffs for progress. Prof Vincent Ogbonnaya Nmehielle, Secretary-General, AfDB, said the trade tariffs tension was worrying, but presented a step in Africa’s journey to better mobilise and utilise capital and make it work for the continent.
It had become urgent for African leaders “to look inwards and use our capital to work for Africa because that is where the world is turning to, you take care of yourself,” he said. “The relevance of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area is here.” He said the press conference was to demonstrate the AfDB’s readiness to welcome the rest of the world in Cote d’Ivoire with the annual meetings of the Bank Group.
The 2025 meetings would feature the 60th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Bank and the 51st Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the African Development Fund – the Bank Group’s concessional window.
There would be knowledge management events with experts from industry and academia to unpack the performance of Africa in mobilising, utilising, and covering the outflow of domestic capital to make it work better for development.
Conversations will be held on building stronger African institutions, aimed at making domestic institutions fit-for-purpose to effectively use Africa’s capital to spur the continent’s development. An election of a new president for the Bank will be organised to replace the current president, Dr Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, as his second five-year term comes to an end.
Five candidates are contesting the position. They are Mr Hott Amadou, Senegal, Dr Maimbo Samuel Munzele, Zambia, Mr Tah Sidi Ould, Mauritania, Mr Tolli Abbas Mahamat, Chad, and Ms Tshabalala Bajabulile Swazi, South Africa.
Source: GNA
