Denmark and African Development Bank deepen ties to unlock private capital for Africa

Bank Group President Dr Sidi Ould Tah and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen signed a memorandum of understanding in September, setting out cooperation through 2030.

The African Development Bank Group and Denmark are strengthening their partnership to bring more private investment into Africa's economies, support cleaner energy and help countries finance development as access to concessional funding becomes more limited.

Bank Group President Dr Sidi Ould Tah and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen signed a memorandum of understanding in September, setting out cooperation through 2030. The agreement connects efforts to attract capital with practical priorities, from reliable water supplies and green infrastructure to jobs and economic opportunities for young people.

Bringing private investors into development projects

A central part of the agreement is finding ways to draw more private capital into projects that support Africa's development, using tools such as blended finance, guarantees and risk-sharing arrangements. These approaches can help address investment risks and make it easier to combine public resources with commercial funding.

The partnership includes dialogue with the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark and Impact Fund Denmark, creating opportunities to bring Danish investment expertise together with the Bank Group's financing capacity and knowledge of African markets.

For Ould Tah, the challenge goes beyond increasing the amount of money available. He said Africa needs to use each source of capital more effectively and direct it towards priorities capable of transforming economies.

He pointed to Denmark's increased contribution to the African Development Fund and its support for new financing instruments as evidence of that commitment, saying the next step is to get more capital to the countries, businesses and projects that can turn those ambitions into economic progress. Rasmussen described the agreement as a way to advance shared goals for growth, jobs, energy and opportunity across the continent.

Building on years of support for greener growth

Climate action and the green transition have been central to the relationship for more than a decade. Denmark contributed DKK 300 million in 2011 as a founding supporter of the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, helping establish a financing platform focused on sustainable energy development.

Danish support has also reached Bank initiatives covering water, infrastructure, urban development and climate finance, giving the expanded agreement a foundation of programmes and experience to draw from.

The new framework creates room to connect that work with a broader effort to attract investment, particularly as African governments face tighter access to concessional resources, which offer more favourable terms than conventional market borrowing.

Jobs, shared expertise and support for vulnerable countries

The cooperation extends beyond financing, with plans for greater exchanges of economic analysis, policy research and technical knowledge. Job creation and wider opportunities for young people will be priorities, alongside efforts to strengthen resilience in countries affected by fragility and conflict.

Regular strategic consultations will help identify specific programmes and projects where Danish expertise and the Bank Group's capabilities can be combined. Discussions are also expected to cover continuing Danish-funded specialist secondments to the Bank.

The agreement builds on a relationship stretching back decades. Denmark has contributed to the African Development Fund since 1973 and has been a shareholder of the African Development Bank since 1982.

It was among the first countries to announce a pledge for the Fund's seventeenth replenishment, known as ADF-17, committing DKK 1.17 billion. That represents a 40 per cent increase over its ADF-16 commitment, reinforcing Denmark's financial backing as the partners work to turn their agreement into funded projects and wider economic opportunities.