AfDB transformed 515 million lives over the past decade

Through various AfDB financing programmes across Africa, a total of 61M people have gained access to clean water since 2015.
Another 33M people have benefited from improved sanitation while 46M Africans have gained access to ICT services, even as 25M people gained access to electricity.
Next up for AfDB is the push to connect 300M Africans to electricity by 2030, and measure Africa’s vast green wealth as part of the continent’s GDP.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) positively impacted over 515 million lives over the past 10 years, the lender’s President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has revealed. While addressing Heads of State and Government at the just concluded 38th session of the African Union Summit, Dr. Adesina said the bank has positively impacted 231 million women during the decade under review.

While sharing his scorecard before the august gathering, Dr. Adesina noted that AfDB‘s initiatives have led to 127 million people gaining access to better healthcare services across Africa in the last 10 years.

Additionally, through various financing programmes across jurisdictions, a total of 61 million people gained access to clean water while 33 million people have benefited from improved sanitation. What’s more, 46 million people have gained access to ICT services, even as 25 million people gained access to electricity.

In his farewell address ahead of his September 1st, 2025, exit from the helm of the bank, Dr. Adesina’s term appears to have ended on a high note as leaders from Africa considered and endorsed four AfDB-led initiatives that are poised to positively impact even more lives.

AfDB – the next big agenda

These include the newly launched plan to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030, a push to measure Africa’s vast green wealth as part of its GDP, a $20 billion facility to provide Africa with a financial buffer and a roadmap for the continent to achieve sustainable growth and development.

Further, Dr. Adesina, who is also the Chairman of the Group’s Boards of Directors, underscored the impact of the Bank’s High 5s Agenda—Light up and Power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialize Africa, Integrate Africa, and Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa—which has impacted more than half a billion lives across the continent.

“It has been an unprecedented partnership to advance the goal of the African Union towards achieving Agenda 2063: The Africa we want,” said Adesina who in February 2022, became the first president of AfDB to address the AU Summit.

One of the key objectives of the February 15–16 Summit in Addis Ababa was the election of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission. In the contest that attracted candidates from Kenya, Djibouti and Madagascar, Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf emerged the winner.

Mahmoud Youssouf will succeed Moussa Faki Mahamat from Chad. In the post of the Commission’s Deputy Chairperson, Algerian diplomat Salma Malika Haddadi won the backing of leaders from Africa.

Africa Energy Summit

Regarding the push to connect more homes to electricity across Africa, Dr. Adesina cited the achievements made during the Africa Energy Summit held in Tanzania in January, where a total of 48 countries signed the Dar es Salaam Declaration.

This declaration seeks to adopt bold policies across jurisdictions in support of Mission 300, a bold initiative by the World Bank and the AfDB to extend electricity access to 300 million Africans by 2030. At the moment, over 600 million people in Africa lack access to electricity.

The Dar es Salaam meeting attracted a total of 21 Heads of State from Africa and helped mobilize up to $48 billion in financial commitments from the World Bank and AfDB as well as an additional $7 billion from other development partners to drive the ambitious agenda.

The Addis Ababa Summit endorsed the Dar Es Salaam Energy Declaration, the Baku Declaration by African Heads of State on Measuring the Green Wealth of Africa.

The Assembly also adopted the African Financing Stability Mechanism, a landmark initiative by the AfDB to provide $20 billion in debt refinancing for African nations alongside the Strategic Framework on Key Actions to Achieve Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development in Africa report, which outlines key actions required to enable Africa to achieve, and sustain an annual growth rate of at least 7 percent of GDP over the next five decades.

On food security, Dr. Adesina cited the AfDB’s Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), the Dakar 2 Food Summit that mobilized $72 billion in 2023, and the $1.5 billion Africa Emergency Food Production Facility that was launched in May 2022 to avert a major food and fertilizer crisis triggered by global conflicts.

“The African Development Bank accelerated food production in Africa. Over 101 million people became food secure. We mobilized $72 billion to implement the food and agriculture delivery compacts across the continent,” Dr. Adesina explained.

With the support of the Bank, Ethiopia has emerged as a success story with statistics showing that Africa’s second most populous country has achieved self-sufficiency in wheat production within four years and is now Addis Ababa is a leading wheat-exporter.

AfDB’s Decade of Transformative Impact

Regarding tackling joblessness, Dr. Adesina said AfDB has trained 1.7 million youth in digital skills and is rolling out Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks to drive youth-led economic growth. “Our goal is simple: create youth-based wealth across Africa,” said the presidnet.

Additionally, the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative has provided $2.5 billion in financing to over 24,000 women-owned businesses across the continent, added the president.

Over the past decade, the AfDB has invested over $55 billion in infrastructure, making it the largest multilateral financier of African infrastructure. During the period, AfDB prioritized healthcare, channeling $3 billion in quality healthcare infrastructure and another $3 billion to targeted pharmaceutical development projects, including the setup of the Africa Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation.

Historic Financial Mobilization for Africa

Under Dr. Adesina’s presidency, the AfDB achieved its largest-ever capital increase, growing from $93 billion in 2015 to $318 billion currently. The most recent replenishment of the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional window, raised a record $8.9 billion for Africa’s 37 low-income countries, setting the stage for a target of $25 billion for its upcoming 17th replenishment.

The Africa Investment Forum, a joint effort with eight other partner institutions, has also mobilized over $200 billion in investment commitments, reinforcing Africa as a leading investment destination.

As he bade farewell, the outgoing Bank chief expressed gratitude to the African Heads of State, the African Union Commission, regional economic communities, and the people of Africa for their unwavering support.

“As today will be my final attendance of the AU Summit as President of the African Development Bank, I would like to use this opportunity to immensely thank your Excellencies Heads of State and Government for your extraordinary support over the past ten years. I am very grateful for your always being there for the African Development Bank—your Bank. I am very grateful for your kindness, friendship, and partnership as we forged global alliances to advance the continent’s interest around the world,” he said.

The 2025 Summit under the theme, “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations,” drew global political leaders and other dignitaries, including UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley.