Lagos: Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has expressed his unwavering dedication to mobilizing global capital for Africa’s development, even as his tenure as President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) approaches its conclusion on September 1, 2025. In a keynote address titled “Tilting Global Capital for Unlocking Investment Opportunities in Africa,” delivered at the Standard Chartered Africa Summit, Adesina emphasized his enduring commitment to Africa’s progress. He stated, “Together, let us tilt global capital to unlock Africa’s assets. As I step into a new future, you can be sure this will be my focus! For I will always have Africa in my heart and in my sight.”
According to African Press Organization, the Standard Chartered Africa Summit, themed “Africa to the Globe: Innovation, Resilience, and Growth,” convened corporate leaders, policymakers, investors, and other stakeholders. Notable attendees included Africa’s wealthiest individual, Aliko Dangote; Nigeria’s Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole; Hakeem Belo-Osagie, Chairman of FSDH Group and Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School; and acclaimed author, Chimamanda Adichie.
Since 2015, the African Development Bank has provided over $102 billion in low-cost financing to Africa. Under Adesina’s leadership, the bank’s capital has increased from $93 billion in 2015 to a projected $318 billion in 2024, marking the largest capital raise in the bank’s 60-year history. In collaboration with the Inter-American Development, Adesina has spearheaded the rechanneling of the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to multilateral development banks, enabling the rechanneled SDRs to be leveraged by 4-8 times.
The Africa Investment Forum, launched by the bank in partnership with strategic allies, has attracted over $225 billion in investment interest across key sectors such as infrastructure, energy, agribusiness, and manufacturing since 2018. Additionally, the AfDB has issued the largest social bond by a multilateral development bank, amounting to $14 billion over the past eight years. In 2025 alone, the bank issued $10 billion in long-term global benchmark bonds to finance projects across Africa.
The AfDB has also achieved significant milestones, including the first-ever synthetic securitization of a non-sovereign portfolio by a multilateral development bank and the largest-ever private sector hybrid capital transaction. These initiatives have played a crucial role in creating new sovereign lending opportunities and mobilizing funds for the continent.
Adesina commended Standard Chartered Bank for its successful partnership with the African Development Bank, highlighted by a partial credit guarantee for Côte d’Ivoire in 2023. This transaction won Sovereign Syndicated Loan Deal of the Year at the 2025 Bonds, Loans, and ESG Capital Markets Africa Awards in Cape Town. He also praised Standard Chartered for being named Best Transaction Bank at the Asset Triple A Treasurise Awards in Hong Kong.
Adesina urged global financial institutions to enhance their strategic partnerships with the African Development Bank and other multilateral development banks to amplify capital flows to Africa. He called for increased use of risk mitigation and credit enhancement instruments, the mainstreaming of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) best practices, and collaboration to scale up local currency financing solutions.
Adesina’s delegation included Solomon Quaynor, the Bank Group’s Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure, and Industrialization, and Dr. Abdul Kamara, Director General of the Nigeria Country Department. The African Development Bank’s current portfolio in Nigeria is valued at $5.1 billion, comprising 52 operations evenly split between public and private sectors. The Bank Group plans to establish a Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank in Nigeria and is advancing Phase 1 of its Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones across several states, with Phase 2 slated for September 2025.