The African Development Bank Group and the Government of Denmark have committed to deepening their longstanding cooperation on mobilising private capital, advancing Africa’s green transition and strengthening development finance, as access to concessional resources tightens for many African countries.
African Development Bank Group President Dr Sidi Ould Tah and Denmark’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen signed a memorandum of understanding on behalf of the two entities in September 2026. The agreement, which runs through 2030, focuses on enhanced cooperation on private capital mobilisation, including blended finance, guarantees and risk-sharing, through dialogue with the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark and Impact Fund Denmark.
The agreement creates scope to build on Denmark’s record in renewable energy, climate adaptation, water security and green infrastructure. The collaboration will extend beyond finance to include plans to increase exchanges of economic analysis, policy research and technical knowledge. Denmark brings unique instruments and experience, including through Impact Fund Denmark and the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark, to complement AfDB platforms through guarantee instruments. This strengthens the Bank’s ability to crowd in private investment, reduce risk and accelerate SDG and climate finance delivery.
Climate action and the green transition have been central pillars of the partnership between the Bank Group and Denmark for more than a decade. Denmark established the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) at the Bank in 2011 with an initial contribution of DKK 300 million (USD 50 million), and has continued to support the fund’s work in advancing renewable energy and energy access across the continent.
Denmark has also announced a planned DKK 1.1 billion pledge to the African Development Fund’s 17th replenishment, representing a 40 per cent increase over its previous contribution. The country’s 2026 development priorities include DKK 850 million for new and targeted business instruments to strengthen the mobilisation of private investment in developing countries.
The partnership builds on AfDB’s broader efforts to mobilise private capital for green infrastructure, including the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA), which aims to unlock up to $10 billion in private capital for green infrastructure projects. The Bank and its partners mobilised over $175 million for AGIA in the first week of COP28, advancing the programme toward its first close of $500 million in early-stage project preparation and development capital.
For African countries, the deepened partnership with Denmark offers a pathway to scale green investments at a time when concessional finance is increasingly scarce. The challenge now is to ensure that the instruments developed under the agreement deliver measurable impact on the ground.
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