AfDB Posts Record $11B in 2024 Operations, Highlights Climate, Jobs Impact

The Bank’s strategic and financial response underscores its pivotal role in advancing inclusive growth, climate resilience, and sustainable development on the continent.

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has announced a historic high of $11 billion in new operations for 2024, the largest annual investment in the institution's history. The announcement, made during the Bank's 2025 Annual Meetings in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, is a centerpiece of its Annual Development Effectiveness Review (ADER) for 2025—a flagship report that evaluates the Bank's impact across Africa over the past year.

The ADER 2025, titled "Supporting Africa's Resilience and Driving Transformation," showcases how the Bank has scaled up its work to help African countries meet rising challenges, including climate change, conflict, economic instability, and global supply shocks. The Bank's strategic and financial response underscores its pivotal role in advancing inclusive growth, climate resilience, and sustainable development on the continent.

"Africa's potential is boundless, but realising the opportunities requires strategic investments at scale," said Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group. "In a world confronting its own challenges, this is the moment for African institutions like the Bank to take the lead in driving the continent's transformation."

Record Climate Finance and Scaled-Up Impact

Of the $11 billion in new operations in 2024, $5.5 billion—half of the Bank's total portfolio for the year—was allocated to climate finance, demonstrating the Bank's evolving leadership in supporting climate adaptation and mitigation efforts across the continent. This is especially critical as African countries continue to bear the brunt of extreme weather, food insecurity, and resource degradation, despite contributing the least to global emissions.

The Bank's climate-related funding went toward:

• Renewable energy development

• Climate-smart agriculture

• Resilient infrastructure

• Disaster preparedness and early warning systems

The report also highlights how AfDB is leveraging climate finance to mobilize co-investment from development partners and private investors, thus maximizing its catalytic impact.

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The High 5s Framework: Transformative Results in 2024

The 2025 ADER evaluates AfDB's performance through its core strategic framework known as the High 5s, which include:

1. Light Up and Power Africa

2. Feed Africa

3. Industrialize Africa

4. Integrate Africa

5. Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa

Notable achievements in 2024 include:

• Healthcare and Water Access:

  • 14 million people gained access to improved healthcare

  • 5 million people gained access to clean water and sanitation

• Energy and Infrastructure:

  • Nearly 1 million people connected to new electricity access, with more than 1 gigawatt (GW) of generation capacity added, largely from renewables

  • 3.5 million people gained improved access to transport, promoting trade integration and infrastructure development under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

• Jobs and Livelihoods:

  • 260,000 new jobs were created

  • 25,000 agribusinesses received support

  • 1.5 million farmers accessed climate-smart agricultural technologies

These results illustrate a broad-based impact on human development, economic opportunity, and regional integration, consistent with the Bank's mission to leave no one behind.

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A New Results Management Framework for a New Decade

The 2025 ADER is the first performance review conducted under AfDB's new Results Management Framework (2024–2033), which offers a streamlined, impact-focused approach to tracking progress. The framework integrates cross-cutting themes that are vital for long-term transformation, including:

• Youth empowerment

• Gender equality

• Climate action

• Resilience and governance

This evolution reflects the Bank's ambition to drive results at scale while maintaining rigorous transparency and accountability standards.

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Mobilizing Resources Amid Global Uncertainty

The record $11 billion investment comes at a time of escalating global crises, including:

• The lingering effects of COVID-19

• Supply chain disruptions

• Geopolitical tensions

• Rising food and energy prices

• The intensification of climate risks

The Bank's significant financial footprint in 2024 signals a clear intent to de-risk development and crowd in private capital. It positions AfDB as a crucial partner in shaping Africa's development agenda, with tailored responses that reflect regional realities and national priorities.

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A Vision for Sustainable, Inclusive Development

Looking ahead, AfDB is expected to scale up its role in Africa's green transition, with additional investments in:

• Digital infrastructure

• Urban resilience

• Decentralized renewable energy

• Youth entrepreneurship and employment

The 2025 ADER report reaffirms the Bank's commitment to accountability, offering stakeholders a detailed performance scorecard and actionable insights to improve project impact and service delivery.

"The ADER is not just a report—it is a compass guiding how we adapt and improve," said a senior AfDB executive.

About the ADER

The Annual Development Effectiveness Review (ADER) is the AfDB's principal results-based performance assessment. It evaluates the Bank's contributions against strategic goals and offers policy recommendations to improve impact. The 2025 edition is particularly significant as the first under the Ten-Year Strategy (2024–2033) and new RMF, marking a new era of evidence-driven development.