The final meeting of the 17th replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF-17), the African Development Bank Group's concessional financing window, will take place on 15 and 16 December 2025 in London, United Kingdom.
During the meeting, development partners will announce their financial commitments to support 37 low-income African countries, at a time when official development assistance is facing mounting fiscal pressures.
Here are five key questions that summarise what is at stake in this crucial meeting.
What is the African Development Fund?
Since its creation in 1972, the African Development Fund has provided more than $45 billion in grants, low-interest loans, and guarantees tailored to the needs of 37 of Africa's least-developed countries. The Fund focuses on building sustainable, climate-resilient infrastructure that drives growth and integration, while strengthening governance, public financial management, and debt sustainability to support long-term development outcomes. Since its first replenishment cycle (ADF-1), the Fund has operated on a three-year cycle supported by development partners, ensuring predictable and stable financing. To date, it has invested more than $45 billion in infrastructure, social services, and home-grown solutions across the continent. The Fund's priorities have evolved with Africa's needs. The current cycle also focuses on fragility, private sector engagement and climate resilience, notably through climate adaptation and mitigation.
Why is the London pledge session crucial?
Co-hosted in London by the United Kingdom and Ghana, this meeting takes place at a time when official development assistance is under pressure. Over the past year, extensive consultations with partners have defined the strategic priorities of ADF-17. They focus on five areas: jobs and livelihoods, energy access, trade and regional integration, as well as debt sustainability and institutional strengthening. The London session will mark the adoption of the 2026-2028 financing programme.
The African Development Fund is a unique multilateral financing instrument, led by Africa itself. While supported by international partners, it is co-owned by African and non-African member countries, with investment decisions guided by continental priorities. African regional member countries are playing an increasingly important role through direct financial contributions, strengthening ownership and shared responsibility.
ADF-17 represents a historic milestone with a record number of African countries making financial commitments.
How does the Fund's financing mechanism work?
The African Development Fund provides affordable financing through grants, low-interest loans and guarantees tailored to countries with limited fiscal space. This allows governments to invest in essential public goods without exacerbating debt vulnerabilities.
Every three years, partners commit new resources through the replenishment process, with ADF-17 being the current cycle. These partner contributions are combined with internal repayments and resources from the African Development Bank's non-concessional window, enabling larger and more transformative operations. This blended structure also helps to mobilise private capital, particularly in high-risk environments.
What types of projects and sectors does the Fund prioritise?
The African Development Fund aligns its operations with national development priorities while addressing major continental challenges such as climate adaptation, food security, migration and energy access. It supports strategic initiatives such as securing access to strategic minerals for the energy transition, unlocking transformative trade corridors like the Lobito Corridor linking Angola through DRC with Zambia, and leveraging Africa's vast agribusiness potential.
Since its inception, the Fund has financed more than 3,000 projects and was ranked second worldwide among 49 development agencies by the Center for Global Development in 2021. Between 2015 and 2024, 18 million people gained new or improved access electricity, 90 million improved their food security, 87 million benefitted from modernised transport infrastructure, and 48 million gained access to safe water and sanitation.
What are the current challenges facing the African Development Fund?
During the previous replenishment session, $8.9 billion was mobilized for the period from 2022 to 2025.
The 17th replenishment of the Fund comes amid heightened global resource scarcity, accelerating climate impacts across the continent and an environment of political instability and uncertainty worldwide ADF-17 introduces innovative financing mechanisms, including market borrowing option, designed to significantly strengthen the Fund's capacity to mobilise additional resources. The Fund is now implementing the policy framework required to operationalise this option to borrow from capital markets during this cycle, underscoring its commitment to expanding its financial capacity while continuing to deliver concessional support to the continent's most vulnerable countries.
