AfDB - African Development Bank Gro

Published purpose

This contribution represents Canada’s institutional support to the 11th replenishment of the African Development Fund (AfDF), of the African Development Bank. Established in 1972, the Fund mobilizes voluntary donor funds for concessionary financing – grants and essentially zero-interest loans – to the poorest and most vulnerable African countries. The African Development Bank helps reduce poverty, improve living conditions and mobilize resources for the sustainable economic and social development of its 53 African-country members. It promotes co-operation (including regional and sub-regional co-operation) and international trade, particularly among its African-member states. For the period 2008-2010, the ADF focused on three core operational priorities: (i) infrastructure development, (ii) governance, and (iii) regional integration. A framework for supporting fragile states complements this focus. The Fund also seeks to maximize synergies with the Bank’s private sector work. These areas together constitute the primary instruments for the Fund’s support of more inclusive growth, agriculture and rural development, and social and human development. They also are the areas where the Fund seeks to mainstream attention to the critical cross-cutting objectives with respect to gender, environment and climate change.