The African Development Bank (AfDB) will inject $125 million into African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI), a move that will make it the agency’s largest shareholder and strengthen efforts to attract more private investment into infrastructure and development projects across Africa.
AfDB President Sidi Ould Tah disclosed this in an interview with Reuters following the bank’s annual meetings held in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. Tah, who assumed office as president of Africa’s largest development finance institution in September 2025, is championing a new financing approach as traditional development assistance continues to decline.
Development aid from wealthy nations fell by nearly a quarter last year to $174.3 billion, while cuts in funding from major contributors have increased pressure on development institutions such as the AfDB.
Tah explained that the $125 million investment forms part of the bank’s broader New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD) initiative. This initiative seeks to mobilize Africa’s vast domestic financial resources to address the continent’s infrastructure and development funding needs.
The initiative aims to unlock an estimated $4 trillion held in African institutional capital pools, including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance assets, and savings schemes. According to Tah, these resources remain largely fragmented despite Africa facing an annual development financing gap estimated at about $400 billion.
He stated that the strengthened partnership with ATIDI would significantly expand the use of guarantees as a tool for attracting private capital into infrastructure projects and other strategic sectors across the continent.
“Our target is to bring the level of guarantees provided by ATIDI to 10 billion (dollars) annually and reach a target that will really unlock huge potential for financing infrastructure at scale,” said Tah after the bank’s annual meeting in Brazzaville last week.
The planned investment will increase AfDB’s ownership stake in ATIDI from 3% to 14%, making the bank the institution’s largest shareholder. ATIDI has historically supported investments worth an average of $3 billion annually through its guarantee and insurance products.
