AfDB Unites Global Insurers to Boost Risk-Sharing, Capital Mobilization for Africa

AfDB Chief Economist Dr. Kevin Chika Urama presented the Bank’s economic outlook, highlighting Africa’s resilient economic growth despite global uncertainty.

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) convened more than 50 global insurers, brokers, export credit agencies (ECAs), and risk-mitigation partners in Rabat, Morocco, for its fourth annual Insurer and ECA Day, held on 25 November, alongside the 2025 Africa Investment Forum Market Days. The gathering underscored the Bank’s expanded efforts to deepen risk-sharing mechanisms and strengthen credit-enhancement tools that can unlock significantly more private capital for Africa’s development.

---

AfDB Becomes First Multilateral Bank to Join the Berne Union

A major highlight of the event was the announcement by Berne Union President Yuichiro Akita that the African Development Bank Group had become the first multilateral development bank ever admitted as a member of the Berne Union—the world’s premier association for export credit and investment insurance institutions. Akita noted that Berne Union members deployed $140 billion in insurance capacity for emerging and developing markets in 2024, signaling robust momentum for risk-sharing partnerships.

---

Africa’s Growth Prospects: A Trillion-Dollar Opportunity

AfDB Chief Economist Dr. Kevin Chika Urama presented the Bank’s economic outlook, highlighting Africa’s resilient economic growth despite global uncertainty. He stressed the enormous investment potential across key sectors:

• Agricultural technologies and agribusiness: projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030.

• Energy markets: forecast to reach $1.3 trillion by 2030, supported by Africa’s 48% share of global renewable energy potential.

These sectors represent transformative opportunities for private investors seeking long-term value in emerging markets.

---

Risk Sharing for Impact: Strengthening Capital Mobilization

AfDB Vice President for Finance and CFO Hassatou Diop N’Sele emphasized the event’s theme: “Risk Sharing for Impact: Catalysing Investment Across Africa with Insurance and Guarantees.”

She highlighted that the 2025 edition reflects feedback from insurers and ECAs calling for:

• Earlier engagement with project preparation

• Greater visibility into AfDB processes and pipelines

• More predictable collaboration frameworks

• Enhanced syndications and balance-sheet optimization

The Bank, she noted, is expanding its private-capital-mobilization strategy through strengthened partnerships with the global insurance industry.

---

Guarantees as a Catalyst for Private Capital

Max Ndiaye, Senior Director for Syndication, Africa Investment Forum & Client Solutions, underlined the critical role of guarantees in mobilizing insurance capital. Since 2014, the AfDB has executed $2.3 billion in guarantees, helping to attract $5.2 billion in private investment across eight African countries. These mechanisms reduce perceived risk and open pathways for financing large-scale infrastructure and transformative projects.

---

Technical Sessions: Improving Risk Allocation and Early Engagement

Participants engaged in discussions on:

• Risk allocation in sovereign and non-sovereign transactions

• Information requirements to support underwriting

• Integrating insurers and ECAs earlier in the project cycle

• AfDB’s risk perception and due-diligence frameworks

The Bank’s Risk Office shared findings from the Global Emerging Markets Risk Database (GEMs) showing that Africa has the world’s best recovery rate on defaults, a crucial indicator that can help shift global investor perceptions.

---

Showcasing a $20 Billion Project Pipeline for 2026

The event concluded with the presentation of the AfDB’s 2026 pipeline, valued at over $20 billion, including major flagship projects such as:

• Bishoftu International Airport (Ethiopia): a $12 billion mega-project

• Unicargas Project (Angola): for which the Bank is serving as mandated lead arranger

These projects demonstrate significant opportunities for insurers and ECAs to participate in Africa’s next generation of infrastructure development.

---

Advancing AfDB’s Strategic Vision

In her closing remarks, Senior Vice President Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade hailed the Insurer & ECA Day as a core pillar of the Bank’s mobilization strategy and a direct contributor to the Four Cardinal Points vision of the institution’s new President, Sidi Ould Tah.

She emphasized that strengthening partnerships with insurers and ECAs is essential to closing Africa’s massive infrastructure and climate-finance gaps and ensuring the continent reaches its full economic potential.