Ghana and the United Kingdom co hosted the 17th replenishment of the African Development Fund in London, securing a record 11 billion dollars from 43 partners to support development across Africa’s 37 poorest countries, marking the largest fundraising in the fund’s history.
The pledging conference held December 15 to 17 at European Bank for Reconstruction and Development headquarters brought together African governments, multilateral institutions and international partners to mobilize financing for sustainable development. The outcome represents a 23 percent increase over the previous replenishment despite severe global fiscal constraints and declining aid budgets, sending a clear signal of confidence in Africa’s development prospects.
Earlier this year, Ghana joined four other countries in pledging 16 million dollars to the ADF, the first time all five countries in our constituency contributed, Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem stated during the conference. This demonstrates our commitment to reforms and partnerships that deliver tangible results for our people.
For the first time in the fund’s history, 23 African countries made unprecedented contributions to their own concessional financing window, reflecting growing ownership of the continent’s development agenda. The historic participation included Ghana’s five million dollar pledge in May 2025 alongside The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Sudan, marking a milestone moment where all five countries in the constituency participated.
UK Minister for Development Jenny Chapman reaffirmed her country’s long standing partnership with the African Development Bank, noting the UK is shifting from a traditional donor role to one focused on investment. We have a long standing partnership with the African Development Bank and support it in driving sustainable and inclusive growth on the continent, for the benefit of the UK and our African partners, she said.
Chapman highlighted the first Private Sector Mobilisation Day held in London as part of the conference, noting the role of the City of London in mobilizing investment for Africa. The UK’s shifting role from donor to investor will support countries who want to grow their economies and ultimately exit the need for aid, she stated.
The conference attracted senior leaders from major African and international development institutions including Ludovic Ngatsé, Chairperson of the Boards of Governors of the African Development Bank and Congo’s Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Integration. Also present were presidents of the Islamic Development Bank Group, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, and the OPEC Fund for International Development, along with representatives from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
African Development Bank Group President Sidi Ould Tah, leading his first fund replenishment since assuming office in September 2025, described the achievement as a clear signal that funding partners recognize the investment value of the fund. This replenishment is not about aid. It is about investment with measurable returns. Each dollar invested in the African Development Fund unlocks more than 2.50 dollars in co financing and private capital, he said.
The ADF-17 replenishment aligns with Ould Tah’s Four Cardinal Points agenda focusing on mobilizing greater capital, reforming Africa’s financial architecture, harnessing demographic potential and accelerating climate resilient infrastructure. Within this framework, the fund remains indispensable to ensuring Africa’s most vulnerable countries are not left behind in global development efforts.
Ampem emphasized that Ghana had improved domestic revenue mobilization through digital compliance tools and tax reforms. Investments from the fund have supported women led small and medium enterprises and mini grid energy solutions, helping to expand access to electricity while promoting inclusive growth across the country.
Resources mobilized under ADF-17 will support interventions addressing infrastructure gaps, climate adaptation, food security, job creation and economic transformation across the 37 low income and fragile African countries served by the fund. Targeted support will continue for countries facing fragility and vulnerability through the Transition Support Facility.
The fund, established in 1972 as the concessional arm of the African Development Bank Group, is replenished every three years. Over five decades it has improved lives of tens of millions across low income countries amid mounting climate, economic and security pressures. The ADF-16 replenishment for 2023 to 2025 mobilized over 8.9 billion dollars including 429 million dollars for a climate window.
Four countries, Germany, France, UK and the United States, accounted for 45 percent of donor commitments to ADF-16 or 28 percent of total resources. The increased African participation in ADF-17 marks a significant shift toward greater domestic ownership and co investment in continental development priorities.
During the last cycle, ADF investments helped 2.9 million people gain access to clean water services, connected 500,761 people to electricity including 251,766 women, and improved health outcomes across beneficiary countries. In Somalia, cancelling all outstanding concessionary loans reduced the country’s external debt obligations by 17.7 million dollars, freeing public resources for urgent development needs.
Ghana’s role as co host aligns with President John Mahama’s broader Reset Agenda which seeks to position Accra as a hub for development dialogue and reforms while advocating for fairer global financial systems and country led development. The government has prioritized strengthening partnerships with multilateral institutions and positioning Ghana as a voice for African interests in international forums.
The UK’s renewed Africa strategy emphasizes partnerships based on equality, trade, climate action, innovation and African led development. The approach represents evolution from traditional aid relationships toward investment focused engagement recognizing Africa’s economic potential and the mutual benefits of deepened commercial ties.
Ghana and the UK reaffirmed their shared commitment to sustainable and inclusive growth in Africa and urged partners to maintain momentum in fulfilling their pledges. The joint statement noted that continued support will be critical to meeting Africa’s growing financing needs amid global economic uncertainty and competing development priorities.
The successful replenishment comes amid exceptional global challenges including severe fiscal constraints in donor countries, declining aid budgets, and uncertainty following major political transitions. The Center for Global Development noted that ADF countries face extreme hardship with heavy debt burdens and limited fiscal space to support critical development goals.
Climate change impacts have been particularly severe in some sub Saharan regions leading to disrupted crop cycles, constant food shortages, degraded soils, loss of livestock and depletion of fisheries stocks. The ramifications of Covid-19 shutdowns and disrupted grain supply chains as a result of the Ukraine Russia conflict continue causing severe hardship and loss of income across vulnerable communities.
These countries implemented fiscal and governance reforms aligned with the bank’s performance based financing model, demonstrating commitment to improved public financial management, transparency and accountability. The reforms have strengthened domestic resource mobilization and created enabling environments for private sector development and investment.
The African Development Fund provides concessional financing with low interest rates and long repayment periods to countries that cannot access commercial capital markets on affordable terms. The fund serves as vital source of development finance for infrastructure, agriculture, health, education and other sectors critical to poverty reduction and economic transformation.
Ghana’s five million dollar contribution follows implementation of fiscal reforms including digital tax compliance systems aimed at expanding the tax base and improving revenue collection efficiency. Previous ADF investments in Ghana supported women led enterprises through access to finance programmes and renewable energy mini grids expanding electricity access in rural communities.
The fund’s performance based allocation system rewards countries demonstrating strong governance, economic management and portfolio performance with higher resource allocations. This incentivizes policy reforms and institutional strengthening while ensuring resources flow to countries with capacity to use them effectively.
Beyond traditional donor countries, emerging economies including China, India and Brazil have increased engagement with African development through South South cooperation mechanisms. However, traditional donors remain largest contributors to concessional financing windows supporting low income countries across the continent.
The London pledging session concluded a year long replenishment process conducted amid exceptional global uncertainty. Negotiations involved consultations with donor countries, African member states, civil society organizations and private sector representatives to determine resource envelope and policy priorities for the 2026 to 2028 cycle.
As Africa’s population approaches 1.5 billion people with the youngest demographic profile globally, development partners must commit resources matching the continent’s ambition and potential. The successful ADF-17 replenishment demonstrates sustained international confidence in Africa’s development prospects and the African Development Bank Group’s leadership in driving transformative change.
Together, Ghana and UK leadership in co hosting the replenishment reflects recognition that Africa’s development challenges require collaborative solutions bringing together African governments, traditional donors, emerging partners, multilateral institutions and private sector to mobilize resources at scale necessary for achieving sustainable development goals and continental transformation agendas.
