AfDB - African Development Bank Gro

Published purpose

The Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA) was created in 2005 to accelerate progress towards meeting the urgent infrastructure needs of Africa in support of economic growth and development. The Consortium brings together G8 donors, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the African Union (AU), multilateral organizations, and other financiers such as China, to coordinate initiatives to increase public and private investment in regional infrastructure across the continent. It aims to make support to infrastructure in Africa more effective by pooling efforts in selected areas (such as information sharing, project development, and the exchange of best practices). Although not a financing agency, the Consortium acts as a platform to broker increased financing of infrastructure projects and programs in Africa. Its work focuses on four key areas identified as priorities in the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the G8 Africa Action Plan: water and sanitation, energy, transportation, and information and communication technologies (ICTs). CIDA provides core funding support to the ICA Secretariat hosted at the African Development Bank.