Lagos: Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has expressed his unwavering dedication to Africa’s development, emphasizing his ongoing commitment to mobilize global capital for the continent even after his tenure as President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) concludes on September 1, 2025.
According to African Press Organization, Adesina delivered a keynote speech titled “Tilting Global Capital for Unlocking Investment Opportunities in Africa” at the Standard Chartered Africa Summit on July 31 in Lagos. In his address, he urged global stakeholders to join forces in redirecting global capital towards Africa’s vast resources, stating, “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.”
The Standard Chartered Africa Summit, themed “Africa to the Globe: Innovation, Resilience, and Growth,” attracted prominent figures including Standard Chartered’s Co-Heads of Corporate and Investment Banking, Sunil Kaushal and Roberto Hoornweg, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, Dalu Ajene, Nigeria’s Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Africa’s wealthiest individual, Aliko Dangote, and award-winning author, Chimamanda Adichie.
Under Adesina’s leadership, the African Development Bank has significantly contributed to Africa’s financial landscape. Since 2015, the Bank has facilitated over $102 billion in low-cost financing across the continent. It raised its capital from $93 billion in 2015 to an unprecedented $318 billion by 2024, marking the highest capital increase in the Bank’s sixty-year history. The Bank also spearheaded initiatives like the rechanneling of the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to multilateral development banks, a move that leverages rechanneled SDRs as hybrid capital.
The Africa Investment Forum, launched by the Bank, has garnered over $225 billion in investment interest since 2018, targeting vital sectors such as infrastructure, energy, and agribusiness. Additionally, the Bank issued $14 billion in social bonds over the past eight years, marking the largest social bond issuance by multilateral development banks. In 2025 alone, $10 billion in long-term global benchmark bonds were issued to finance various projects across Africa.
Adesina praised the successful partnership between Standard Chartered Bank and the African Development Bank, highlighting the partial credit guarantee for Côte d’Ivoire in 2023, which won the Sovereign Syndicated Loan Deal of the Year at the 2025 Bonds, Loans, and ESG Capital Markets Africa Awards. Standard Chartered’s participation as the sole lender resulted in unlocking £533 million to support Côte d’Ivoire’s financing needs.
He also congratulated Standard Chartered on being named Best Transaction Bank at the Asset Triple A Treasurise Awards in Hong Kong, acknowledging the bank’s impressive record of 127 accolades globally.
Adesina called on global financial institutions to enhance strategic partnerships with the African Development Bank and other multilateral development banks to increase capital flows to Africa. He emphasized the importance of utilizing risk mitigation and credit enhancement instruments, adopting best practices in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), and collaborating to scale up local currency financing solutions.
The African Development Bank’s current active portfolio in Nigeria is valued at $5.1 billion, comprising 52 projects evenly distributed between the public and private sectors. The Bank plans to establish a Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank in Nigeria as part of a broader initiative to support young African entrepreneurs.
Additionally, the Bank is implementing Phase 1 of its Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones across eight states, including the Federal Capital Territory, with construction underway in four states. Phase 2, covering the remaining 28 states, is expected to commence in September 2025.