On the sidelines of the African Development Bank Group's Annual Meetings, the Bank's Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) function organised a side event entitled: 'The institutional and financial conditions enabling mobilised development finance to translate into large-scale impact'.
The report, which assesses the impact of the African Development Bank's7thcapital increase on development effectiveness and the implementation of commitments over the 2019-2024 period, was presented.
Karen Rot-Münstermann, Chief Evaluator of the African Development Bank Group, explained that the capital increase had expanded the Bank's financial capacity, strengthened its strategic alignment with countries' priorities and increased its lending capacity, whilst advancing the integration of climate change and gender issues.
Armand Nzeyimana, Director of the Development Impact and Results Department, asked the panellists to explore the institutional and financial conditions under which the mobilised funding can translate into large-scale impact.
Omar Sefiani, Director of the Bank's Treasury Department, meanwhile highlighted the Bank's triple-A rating, which is "a powerful tool for mobilising development finance and a fundamental factor in the cost-effectiveness of the financing obtained" by the Bank and channelled to member countries.
"In the midst of the Covid crisis, we launched a bond issue to raise funds; it would have been difficult to do so if we had been perceived differently, as a high-risk issuer," he added.
The importance of implementing projects through partnerships was highlighted by Malinne Blomberg, Deputy Director General for the North Africa region. She cited Mauritania as an example, where a livestock project was implemented following a tripartite agreement between the Bank, the government and the FAO; "when a project is well-structured, it secures funding," she argued. However, she particularly lamented the lack of well-structured project implementation units in certain countries.
Festus Nghifenwa, Director of Economic Policy Advisory Services at Namibia's Ministry of Finance, outlined the key aspects of the Bank's involvement in his country - where operations began in 2005 - with a current portfolio of $889 million. The Country Strategy Paper (2025-2030) places a strong emphasis on infrastructure, economic development and human capital development. This has resulted in an approach to regional corridors, the creation of dry ports, and roads such as the Trans-Kalahari Highway, facilitating trade between Namibia and Zimbabwe. The Lobito corridor and the regionally oriented Port of Walvis Bay have a considerable socio-economic impact.
The various facets of a well-prepared project were discussed. These include its strategic importance, the viability of the project sponsor, government support, the quality of environmental and social studies, the expected impact and the financing structure, amongst other elements. Capacity building, partnerships and coordination also emerged as key factors for greater efficiency in project implementation.
