The African Development Bank (AfDB)
Founded in 1964, the African Development Bank Group is composed of three core entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (AfDF), and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF).
The primary institution within the Group is the AfDB, a multilateral development bank which is owned and overseen by its 79 members. There are 55 regional members within Africa who own 60% of the bank and 27 non-regional members from the Americas, Europe and Asia, that hold 40% of the bank.The AfDB has a mandate to “contribute to the sustainable economic development and social progress of its regional members individually and jointly”.
Having struggled to raise sufficient finance in international capital markets, the AfDB opened its membership in the 1970s to states and institutions outside of the African continent. Through this process, the AfDB gave these non-regional members the ability to shape policy and priorities through permanent seats on the Board of Directors, as well as up to 50% of veto power over key decisions and policy changes. The non-regional members of the AfDB include the United States (second largest shareholder after Nigeria), Japan, Germany and Canada.
Structure of the African Development Bank
The organisational structure of the AfDB is made up of the Board of Governors, the Board of Directors, the President, and specific departments.
The Board of Governors is composed of one Governor and one Alternate Governor appointed by each member country. Their voting power is proportional to their country’s share in the Bank, making it a tool to influence and shape energy and industrial policy, especially for non-borrowing members. Governors are often high-ranking officials, such as Ministers of Finance or Central Bank Governors, with a term of five years.
The AfDB President is also elected on a five-year cycle with a maximum of one renewal. President Dr Akinwumi Adesina won a second term in 2020, so will have to hand over the presidency in 2025.
Recourse’s work on the African Development Bank
In 2023, Recourse started a stream of work on holding the African Development Bank accountable to its mission, with a strong focus on pushing the Bank to shift finance out of fossil fuels and into sustainable renewable energy for all.
- We are working to ensure that the AfDB aligns policy and practise with the Paris Agreement’s goals and 1.5℃ threshold, by ending all support for fossil gas and other fossil fuels while respecting human rights and promoting gender equality.
- We seek to ensure that the AfDB Energy Sector strategy is revised to include strict criteria on fossil gas phase out.
- We call out the false narrative that Africa needs to develop fossil gas. We call on the AfDB to instead promote the use of sustainable renewable energy that drives economic growth and clean energy access to the hundreds of millions of African people without power.
Browse below for examples of Recourse’s work on the African Development Bank.
