AfDB and France Build €2.4 Billion Partnership for Jobs and Growth

The relationship dates to France joining the African Development Fund, the Bank’s concessional financing arm, in 1977 and becoming one of the Bank’s first non-regional members in 1983.

For business owners struggling to secure loans and communities waiting for reliable water, energy and transport, development finance matters most when it delivers practical improvements. The African Development Bank Group and France are building a more connected approach to financing and delivering projects across Africa, bringing public funding, technical expertise, risk-sharing and commercial experience together to attract more private investment. Their cooperation involves Agence Française de Développement (AFD) Group and Business France, alongside the Bank's public and private-sector operations, project preparation facilities and regional teams.

Turning shared funding into local opportunities

An estimated €2.4 billion in co-financing generated by the Bank Group and AFD since 2021 supports clean energy, climate resilience and adaptation, regional transport, private businesses, water and sanitation, and job creation across every region of Africa. The relationship dates to France joining the African Development Fund, the Bank's concessional financing arm, in 1977 and becoming one of the Bank's first non-regional members in 1983. France remains involved in funding and policy discussions through its ADF-17 contribution and early participation in preparations for ADF-18, extending a partnership that now reaches beyond shareholder support.

Young entrepreneurs are a particular focus in a continent where micro, small and medium-sized businesses face an estimated $331 billion financing gap. Through the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank and AFD's Choose Africa 2 programme, the institutions agreed in 2024 to develop financing instruments for Côte d'Ivoire, Benin and Togo that connect funding with technical assistance, policy discussions and stronger business support networks. This approach reflects the Bank's push for affordable capital and its New African Financial Architecture for Development initiative, which addresses fragmented financing and Africa's $400 billion annual development funding gap through closer institutional coordination, shared risks and better-prepared projects. Joint project development, co-financing and earlier coordination are putting those principles into practice.

Opening financial doors for underserved businesses

Access to financial services is being supported through the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility, established in 2019 by the Bank Group and AFD with the Gates Foundation and Luxembourg's government. It finances digital infrastructure that can expand, regulatory improvements and financial products reaching women, young people, farmers, small businesses and rural communities. AFD committed another €3 million in 2025, taking its total contribution above €5 million, supporting efforts to make credit and other services accessible to people whose needs existing systems do not adequately meet.

Women-owned and women-led businesses are receiving targeted backing through the Bank's Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa initiative, known as AFAWA, to which France has committed $135 million, more than half its current funding envelope. Technical assistance and a guarantee mechanism help participating financial institutions strengthen their lending capacity and reduce perceived risks associated with financing these enterprises. France's contributions to the Bank-hosted African Legal Support Facility address another barrier to successful investment, funding legal advice, institutional support and training so governments can negotiate complex transactions involving natural resources, sovereign debt, contingent liabilities and creditor disputes.

Connecting companies with projects ready to move

French companies gain a practical route into the Bank's work through its annual Business Opportunities Seminar, organised with Business France and the French Embassy in Côte d'Ivoire. Direct discussions with operational teams explain public and private-sector financing, procurement, consultant selection, integrity requirements and upcoming sector opportunities. These exchanges help businesses understand what participation requires, connecting the partnership's wider financing ambitions with companies that could contribute expertise and services to African projects.

Representatives from nine French companies attended the June 2026 seminar at the Bank's headquarters in Abidjan, with sessions covering private-sector finance, procurement, water and sanitation, renewable energy, urban development and health. Earlier delegations included engineering, water management, digital services, environmental technology, education and sustainable industry businesses. The seminar gives firms a clearer view of the Bank's priorities and financing tools, supporting a partnership whose delivery depends on sound preparation, legal capacity and appropriate risk-sharing as much as available capital.