The African Development Bank President, Akinwumi Adesina, has said interventions under his 10-year leadership impacted no fewer than 565 million people across the continent.

He spoke at the opening ceremony 2025 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group in Ivory Coast on Wednesday.

Reflecting on his two-term tenure, Adesina said the Bank’s interventions under his watch transformed communities across Africa through strategic investments in electricity, agriculture, infrastructure, jobs, and health systems.

According to him, 390 million people gained access to electricity, 240 million benefited from agricultural technologies, and 12 million secured new or improved jobs as part of the Bank’s High 5 priorities, introduced in 2016.

He said, “The High 5s of the Bank, to light up and power Africa, feed Africa, industrialize Africa, integrate Africa and improve the quality of life of the people of Africa have been transformational for Africa. In the past decade, the work of the African Development Bank has impacted the lives of 565 million people.

“This includes: 28 million people with access to electricity; 104 million people with food security;121 million people with access to improved transport; 128 million people with access to improved health services; 67 million with improved access to information and communication technology; 63 million people with access to drinking water.

“34 million people with access to sanitation. The Bank accelerated regional integration with massive support for infrastructure to support the African continental free trade area.” 

Adesina also said the AfDB approved $102bn in financing over the last decade which is the highest in its history.

“Over the ten-year period under my presidency the African Development would have provided a total of $102 billion in support to Africa. This represents 46% of all the financing of the Bank since its establishment in 1964.

“The African Development Bank financed over $55 billion in support of infrastructure, from roads, rails, airports, seaports, digital and communications, health, water and sanitation,” he added.

In Nigeria, Adesina noted that the bank has supported the special agro-industrial processing zones in eight states and the Federal Capital Territory.

He said, “The Bank supported the Noor Ouarzazate solar complex in Morocco, which was the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant at the time of its completion.

“We launched the Lagos to Abidjan highway corridor for which the African Development Bank is supporting the feasibility studies, and we have mobilized $15 billion in investment interests.

“In Nigeria, we are implementing the development of special agro-industrial processing zones in 8 States and the FCT and have mobilized $2.9 billion to support the establishment of these zones in 28 more States of Nigeria.” 

Adesina also highlighted other achievements, including the launch of the Africa Investment Forum and the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program, a climate resilience initiative co-developed with the Global Center on Adaptation.

He said, “Over the last 10 years, the African Development Bank Group has become a global leader in financial innovations that have enabled us to stretch our balance sheets and deliver exceptional impact. The Bank led globally with the use of synthetic securitization in 2015, becoming the first multilateral development bank in the world to do so.

“The African Development Bank also launched a $750 million hybrid capital on the global capital market in 2024, becoming the first multilateral financial institution in the world to do so, and opened up a new asset class for investors globally.”