The African Development Bank (AfDB), in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), is set to launch a $538 million programme to develop special agro industrial processing zones in Nigeria.
The AfDB President, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina disclosed this yesterday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the IsDB Golden Jubilee celebration and gala dinner.
Dr. Adesina shared that the AfDB had set a financing goal of $2 billion in 2017, adding that this target has been surpassed, reaching $2.4 billion. He noted that these funds would be used to support 19 projects across 14 African countries. He also stated that the IsDB Group has committed $7 billion to support Africa towards self-sufficiency.
“I was delighted when the Chairman IsDB Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser announced this at the Feed Africa Summit held in Dakar, Senegal, in 2023. You have joined forces with the African Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development as we jointly launched a $538 million programme to develop Special Agro Industrial Processing Zones in Nigeria.
“You also joined forces with us to create the Alliance for Special Agro Industrial Processing Zones to jointly mobilise $3 billion to develop these zones across several countries.
“You are a strategic partner of choice for us. As you look into the future. We have shown our commitment to do more together,” Adesina said.
In his remarks, Afreximbank President, Benedict Oramah, noted that the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), through its International Islamic Trade Finance (ITFC) program, has provided more than $1 billion in trade financing to African countries.
“Today, there can be no better place to invest than in Africa. That is the continent of the future. That is the youngest population. That is a continent that will, in a very short time, actually account for almost 40 per cent of the global population.
“It is a continent that has all the minerals you can think of that are yet to be exploited, not to talk of the water, agricultural land, all the things that the world today is lacking. So, that is a place that can become a good partner of Saudi Arabia as it implements the Vision 2030, Oramah said.
Oramah further noted that Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, a plan for socio-economic and cultural diversification, has made the country a hub connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa.
“If Saudi Arabia achieves this vision, so the global market is nearer, the African ports will become integrated into the Saudi ports, we are able to more effectively also diversify from mineral resources just as Saudi Arabia also diversifies from oil,” he added.