UK to host African Development Fund’s 17th replenishment as ADF-16 report highlights major gains in Africa

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has released its African Development Fund (ADF-16) Delivery and Results Report 2025, showcasing remarkable progress in driving inclusive growth and resilience across Africa’s low-income countries. 

The report’s unveiling coincided with the announcement that the United Kingdom will host the Fund’s 17th replenishment pledging session in December, reaffirming the country’s long-standing support for Africa’s development, a statement said on Friday.

The ADF-16 report, titled “Driving Inclusive Growth: Strategic Investments for Impactful Results,” was launched in Lusaka, Zambia, during the third meeting on the ADF-17 replenishment (7–9 October 2025). It highlights how ADF investments have transformed livelihoods across the continent, even amid global economic turbulence, rising debt levels, and security challenges.

Key Development Achievements in 2024

According to the report, ADF-supported projects delivered transformative results in 2024, including:

Providing 2.9 million people with access to clean water;

Connecting over 500,000 people, including 251,766 women, to electricity;

Improving health services for 1.2 million people;

Supporting 24,403 agribusinesses, including 8,380 women-led enterprises;

Assisting over 520,000 farmers with climate-resilient technologies;

Constructing or rehabilitating 614 km of roads, improving transport access for 3.5 million people; and

Creating 115,564 direct and 449,224 indirect jobs.

The Fund also expanded access to information and communication technology (ICT) services for 1.3 million people.

Strategic Priorities and Climate Action

A key feature of ADF-16 has been its emphasis on climate resilience, gender inclusion, and youth empowerment. The Fund’s Climate Action Window (CAW) successfully mobilized $442 million, while 99% of new projects now integrate climate adaptation measures.

The report spotlights the AfDB’s Mission 300 initiative, launched jointly with the World Bank, to provide electricity access to 300 million Africans by 2030, backed by more than $55 billion in commitments from international development partners.

Gender inclusion remains central to ADF operations, with 96% of new projects incorporating gender equality components and over 290,000 jobs created for African youth aged 15–35 in 2024.

“Together, with ambition and solidarity, let us engage with Africa’s youth to forge a new chapter of growth, resilience, and shared prosperity,” said Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, President of the African Development Bank Group.

“This is a defining moment. The African Development Fund stands ready to meet Africa’s aspirations, leveraging partnerships and innovation for speed, scale, and impact.”

UK to Host ADF-17 Replenishment in December

In a related development, the United Kingdom has announced it will host the ADF-17 replenishment pledging session in December 2025, where global development partners will agree on contributions for the Fund’s 2026–2028 cycle.

The announcement was made by Baroness Jenny Chapman, the UK’s Minister of State for Development and Africa, during a meeting with Dr. Ould Tah in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Baroness Chapman said the UK intends to make a “strong pledge” and urged other partners to contribute ambitiously to sustain Africa’s progress.

“The replenishment is an opportunity to signal our collective commitment to Africa’s growth and development, its institutions, and to innovative, modern approaches to development finance in a challenging global environment,” she said.

The ADF, established in 1972, is the AfDB’s concessional window supporting 37 low-income African countries through grants, low-interest loans, and guarantees. To date, it has provided over $45 billion in financing to strengthen resilience and expand opportunity across the continent.

Dr. Ould Tah welcomed the UK’s announcement, describing it as a rallying call for a robust ADF-17 that will deepen the Fund’s impact.

“It is both an investment in Africa’s development and in shared global prosperity,” he said.

Innovations and Private Sector Engagement

Ahead of the London pledging session, development partners are advancing financial innovations under the ADF framework. These include the Market Borrowing Option, which, if approved, will allow the Fund to leverage its equity base to access capital markets and expand its resource pool for member countries.

The UK also expressed interest in hosting a Private Sector Day, bringing together private companies and development finance institutions to explore new investment opportunities across Africa—an initiative aligned with the ADF’s mission to stimulate private sector engagement in low-income countries.

A Proven Record of Development Impact

Over the past decade, the ADF has made tangible contributions to Africa’s progress—connecting 18 million people to electricity, boosting agricultural productivity for 11 million farmers, and providing water, sanitation, and transport access to more than 135 million people combined.

The Fund’s commitment to transparency and measurable results has earned it global recognition. In 2021, the Centre for Global Development ranked the ADF second among 49 international development agencies for the quality of its assistance.

As Africa faces a new era of complex global and domestic challenges, the ADF’s results-driven strategy and renewed partnerships—bolstered by the UK’s leadership in hosting ADF-17 -signal a strong commitment to ensuring that no country is left behind in the continent’s development journey.