The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and ODI Global have formalised a partnership to develop financing instruments and policy approaches that improve access to affordable finance across Africa.
Under a new Memorandum of Understanding, the two organisations will combine AfDB’s financing capabilities and operational experience with ODI Global’s research and policy expertise to tackle Africa’s high cost of capital, rising debt pressures and shrinking access to concessional finance.
The partnership will focus on four priority areas: reducing the cost of capital, mobilising private capital, financing structurally vulnerable and transition contexts, and using concessional funds more effectively. Joint research will examine how reforms to multilateral development banks and Africa’s financial architecture can expand access to finance.
The two institutions will also assess financing instruments that can improve capital-market access and expand the use of blended and concessional finance. Particular attention will be paid to approaches used by multilateral development banks to mobilise private capital, including portfolio offloading, insurance, guarantees and other risk-sharing mechanisms.
From Project Work to Strategic PartnershipThe MoU formalises a shift from project-based collaboration to a long-term strategic partnership. By integrating African priorities and experience more directly into global discussions on concessional financing and institutional effectiveness, the partnership aims to ensure that Africa’s needs are better reflected in international development finance reform.
The collaboration comes as African countries face constrained official development assistance, rising debt pressures and intensifying climate and economic headwinds. The AfDB estimates an annual financing gap of around $400 billion across the continent, underscoring the urgency of finding new ways to mobilise and deploy capital.
The partnership is expected to complement AfDB’s implementation of the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD), endorsed under the Abidjan Consensus in April 2026. Joint research will inform policy notes, meetings and discussions linked to replenishments of the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional financing window for low-income African countries.
By combining operational analysis with independent policy research, AfDB and ODI Global aim to develop practical solutions that can be scaled across the continent. The success of the partnership will depend on turning research into actionable financing instruments that reduce borrowing costs and expand access to capital for African governments and businesses.
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