Japan Boosts African Development Fund With $421m Concessional Loan

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have signed a landmark 51.67 billion Japanese yen ($421 million) concessional donor loan (CDL) agreement towards the African Development Fund (ADF).

According to a press release, the loan, pledged by the Japanese government at the 16th general replenishment of the resources of the African Development Fund in December 2022, will support much-needed development in Africa’s least developed and fragile countries.

Japan is a top donor to the African Development Fund, having contributed the largest loans to the 14th, 15th and 16th replenishments of the Fund.

The statement said that present at the signing ceremony on Tuesday was the Deputy Vice Minister Daiho Fujii of Japan’s Finance Ministry, who expressed optimism that the country’s concessional donor loan, together with grant contributions, would support African countries to address various challenges relating to climate change, lack of infrastructure, fragility, regional integration, private sector development, and debt management and transparency.

“Through fruitful discussions, we reaffirmed that the African Development Fund has been playing a significant role in supporting lowincome countries in Africa through its concessional loans and grants.

We commit to working together toward a successful ADF-17 replenishment discussion next year,” Fujii said. Japan and other donor countries met in Cotonou last week to review the progress made against operational priorities and policy commitments at the midpoint of the ADF-16 period that ran from 2023 to 2025.

Fujii congratulated the African Development Bank Group on the successful mid-term review of the 16th cycle of ADF. AfDB President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, who is marking his fifth visit to the Asian nation, commended Japan’s government for its unwavering support.

He expressed the Bank Group’s appreciation for Japan’s broader partnership, particularly through JICA’s Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa initiative – an innovative multi-component framework for resource mobilisation and development.