African Development Bank (AfDB)

Organizational profile: The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group is a regional multilateral development finance institution established to contribute to the economic development and social progress of African countries that are the institution’s Regional Member Countries (RMCs). The AfDB comprises three entities: the African Development Bank (ADB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). As the premier development finance institution on the continent, the AfDB’s mission is to help reduce poverty, improve living conditions for Africans and mobilize resources for the continent’s economic and social development.

The African Development Bank Group finances projects, programs and studies in the areas of agriculture, health, education, public utilities, transport and telecommunications, the industry and the private sector. The Bank Group has, since 1968, also sought to finance non-project operations, including structural adjustment loans, policy-based reforms and various forms of technical assistance and policy advice. The African Development Fund (ADF) is the concessional financing window of the Bank Group that provides low income Regional Member Countries (RMCs) with concessional loans and grants, guarantees as well as technical assistance for studies and capacity building in support of projects and programs that spur poverty reduction and economic development. The Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF) was created in 1976 by agreement between the Bank Group and the Nigerian government. The NTF is a self-sustaining revolving fund. Its objective is to assist the development efforts of the Bank's low-income regional member countries whose economic and social conditions and prospects require concessional financing. NTF resources are allocated to projects, and not to countries (unlike the African Development Fund). Proposals concerning the poorest ADF countries, countries with small ADF allocations, and fragile states are particularly encouraged. In 2008, the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Bank agreed to a ten-year extension of the NTF.

AfDB has shown its commitment to help the continent cope with climate change. This strategy calls for increased support for capacity building of African countries to tackle climate change risks. It also ensures that all investments financed by the Bank are “climate-proof", meaning that they are designed, installed, implemented and managed to reduce to a minimal level the adverse effects of climate change, with the most cost-effective ratio as possible. In the area of Natural Resource Management, emphasis is on improved conservation, utilization, governance and management regimes for land, water, fish and forest resources as well as conserving biodiversity. The Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF) is a multi-donor trust fund managed by the Bank. The ACCF broadly aims to:

- Assist African countries to access larger amounts of climate finance and use funds provided more effectively;

- Help African countries to account for climate change in their growth strategies and policies, by means of upstream diagnostics and providing technical assistance;

- Provide capacity-building in climate change and green growth for African countries and stakeholders at national and regional levels.

Financing Instrument: Loans, Grants, Equity, Guarantees

Project scale: Recent forestry related projects have included an XDR 1.392 million grant, an XDR 485,772 technical assistance grant, and an XDR 54,413,371 loan.

The ACCF funds projects ranging from US$250,000 – US$500,000.

Applicable geographical regions/country groups: AfDB works across Africa.

Eligibility Criteria: Most AfDB resources and projects are intended for its regional member countries (RMCs). Countries are classified under three categories on the basis of two criteria: (i) country-creditworthiness and (ii) GNI per capita. The first category comprises ‘not creditworthy’ countries with a GNI per capita below an established threshold updated annually (in fiscal year 2013-2014: $1,205). Countries in the first category are only eligible for concessional resources from the African Development Fund window. The second category contains countries with a GNI per capita below the operational GNI cut off but creditworthy: these are called ‘blend countries’ and are eligible for ADF and ADB resources. Finally, the third category is made up of countries above the operational GNI cut off and creditworthy. Those countries are eligible to ADB resources only. The Group’s credit policy has been reviewed in May 2014, enabling, under certain conditions, an ADF eligible country to borrow non-concessional resources from the AfDB window.

The ACCF currently funds projects through its demand driven window. These projects must be based on the following areas:

- Electrification of health centers in rural areas using renewable energy and energy  storage technologies;

- Low carbon management of medical and sanitary waste including hazardous waste incineration;

- Land restoration in collaboration with farmers especially in the Sahel; and

- Support to the development and implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Long-Term Strategies.

Application guidelines: The various stages from country programming to project completion and post evaluation are known collectively as AfDB Group's project cycle.

Project preparation begins with AfDB Group’s interest to finance a given project or programme and includes both in-bank and external collection of information and data which will help the Bank’s Experts to appraise the project. AfDB Group works with each borrowing regional member country to define a medium-term to long-term development strategy and operational program in a document called country strategy paper (CSP), formerly Economic Prospects and Country Programming (ECPC) papers. The CSP or CSPAR taking into consideration an exigency for performance and results, is aligned to the country's own development plan and poverty reduction goals, and its preparation or planning cycle. During project appraisal, AfDB Group examines project feasibility through an appraisal mission. The appraisal mission - in consultation with the government and other stakeholders - examines the project's technical, financial, economic, technical, institutional, environmental, marketing, and management aspects as well as potential social impact. After the Senior Management Committee has completed its work and recommended the project or programme for Board approval, a draft project proposal is submitted to all parties involved including the Government for review. Feedback is collected, and the Government is then called for negotiation with AfDB.

The ACCF now funds submitted projects through its Demand Driven Window(DDW). The DDW reviews proposals on demand basis outside the periodic Calls for Proposals. Eligible beneficiaries are invited to submit a concept note to africaclimatechangefund@afdb.org, with the subject “ACCF concept note: short project title”.