At Unga81 African Development Bank Group Builds Partnerships for Financing, Resilience and Sustainable Growth in Africa

9 October 2026
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African Development Bank (Abidjan)

At the 81st UN General Assembly, the African Development Bank Group advanced an institution-wide agenda to finance Africa's transformation, strengthen resilience and build partnerships that deliver at scale.

Led by Senior Vice President Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, representing Bank Group President Sidi Ould Tah, the delegation took part in high-level forums and bilateral meetings in New York from 20 to 25 September. Its engagements covered development finance, critical minerals, energy access, jobs, peacebuilding and resilience.

The discussions came as African countries face tighter financing conditions, rising debt, climate shocks, humanitarian crises and mounting pressure to create opportunities for a rapidly growing young population. The Bank focused on three linked priorities: financing transformation, building partnerships that deliver at scale and strengthening resilience before crises take hold.

These priorities support the Bank's Strategic Four Cardinal Points and the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD), which aims to mobilise domestic savings, reinforce African financial institutions and narrow the continent's annual development-financing gap.

"UNGA81 gave the Bank an important platform to bring Africa's priorities into global discussions and, more importantly, to forge the partnerships needed to act on them. Our focus is on moving from dialogue to delivery--mobilising capital, building resilient institutions and creating opportunities that improve people's lives across the continent," Akin-Olugbade said.

At a high-level roundtable convened by UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on the next chapter of sustainable development, Akin-Olugbade urged stronger multilateral cooperation to turn global commitments into results for Africa. She called for financing that supports nationally owned priorities, creates opportunities for young people and accelerates progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

She highlighted guarantees, blended finance, strategic equity and stronger capital markets as tools to channel investment into infrastructure, trade, industrialisation and the green transition.

At a strategic meeting of G7 development ministers at UN headquarters, the Senior Vice-President cited the Bank's support for African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI) as a practical way to strengthen a profitable, investment-grade African institution rather than create a new mechanism. A $125 million equity investment has increased the Bank's stake fivefold, making it ATIDI's largest shareholder and strategic anchor.

The Bank and its partners are also developing a Pan-African Guarantee Platform under NAFAD to coordinate guarantees, insurance and risk-sharing. The goal is to help ATIDI reach $2 billion in paid-in capital and $20 billion in annual guarantee capacity--potentially closing half of Africa's guarantee gap.

Throughout the week, the delegation met governments, regional bodies, UN agencies and businesses. Talks with the President of Comoros, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the African Union High Representative for Silencing the Guns focused on peace, regional integration and development.

Discussions with the UN Global Compact, UNICEF and UNHCR addressed resource mobilisation, job creation and fragility. Two Letters of Intent--with the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund and the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office--will deepen cooperation with the UN and advance the partnership-led approach championed by Ould Tah.

Peace, resilience and support for countries affected by fragility formed the third pillar. Marking 10 years since the World Humanitarian Summit, Akin-Olugbade called for a shift from repeated crisis response to prevention, resilient institutions and livelihoods. She urged closer alignment among humanitarian, peacebuilding and development actors so financing tackles the drivers of fragility and helps countries withstand future shocks.

The delegation also highlighted the Africa Disaster Risk Financing Programme with African Risk Capacity, which pre-arranges sovereign insurance so funding can reach governments quickly after a shock.

The Letter of Intent signed by Akin-Olugbade and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed will expand Bank-UN cooperation on peace and resilience through joint analysis, innovative financing for peace-positive investment and stronger country-level coordination. The GCERF agreement will align community-led prevention with development investment in fragile and conflict-affected settings.

The Bank will now work with governments, the UN system, investors and African financial institutions to turn the week's commitments into investable programmes, stronger institutions and measurable results. Its message throughout was clear: Africa's transformation requires African-led solutions and partnerships that mobilise capital, manage risk and deliver at scale.

Akin-Olugbade was joined by Vice President Kevin Urama; Abdul Kamara, Officer-in-Charge of the Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Vice Presidency; Directors Yero Baldeh, Daniel Schroth and Catherine Baumont-Keita; Lead Operations Advisor Oscar Rivera Pitti; and Presidential Lead Advisor Abdoul Salam Bello.

Learn more about the agreements and key UNGA81 sessions:

Read the original article on African Development Bank (AfDB).

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