The continent’s development funding gap is narrowing thanks to a co-operation deal between the AfDB and the Arab Co-ordination Group (ACG).

The partnership, signed at a high-level meeting at the AfDB’s headquarters in Abidjan on 14 January, intends to transform fragmented lending into co-ordinated, programmed investment, reports Africa Business Communities.

‘By combining our balance sheets, expertise and financing capacities, we can anchor a new wave of Arab-African investment that is larger, more strategic and aligned with Africa’s own development agendas,’ the two parties said.

The next step will be to develop a financing and operational partnership framework, which will plot the way ahead for co-financing, pipeline co-ordination, mutual reliance and regular joint programming. The framework is expected to be complete this year.

The partnership recognises the pivotal role of the AfDB’s concessional financing arm, the African Development Fund, in supporting low-income and fragile countries, and calls for greater co-operation between it and ACG institutions.

20 January 2026
Image: Freepik