Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, who is the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), said yesterday that the bank will lend $500 million to women this year.
He also said that the bank gave $483 million to other banks so that they could give loans to women-owned businesses in 2021.
Adesina said in a statement on Twitter that the AfDB’s Affirmative Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) was raising $5 billion for women-owned businesses with the help of French President Emmanuel Macron and the G-7.
Adesina’s comments came as the bank’s Annual Meetings for 20underwayder way.
He said that the board had approved a crisis response facility of up to $10 billion based on careful risk assessments. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the board issued a $3 billion COVID-19 social bond on the global capital markets. This was the largest social bond ever issued in US dollars.
He said, “Our quick COVID-19 response facility helped stabilize the economies of Africa. It taught 130,000 people to work in health care. It gave about 30 million low-income households social protection. It helped 300,000 small and medium-sized businesses by giving them advice.
He said that to deal with the food crisis caused by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the board approved last week a $1.5 billion African Emergency Food Production Facility to help 20 million farmers make 38 million metric tons of food.
He also said that the bank is working with the Global Center on Adaptation and for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to help Africa get $25 billion to help it adapt to climate change.
Adesina said, “In 2021, Global Finance named the African Development Bank the best multilateral financial institution in the world. CGD ranked the African Development Fund second-best and best in the world, better than all of the 28 institutions in developed countries that offer free loans.
“We are the only bank in Africa with a AAA credit rating. All of the biggest credit rating agencies in the world continue to praise how well we handle risks at the bank, which has helped us keep our AAA credit rating.
“Our management and governance system is strong and good. We give our clients in Africa a lot for their money. In the past six years, our work has affected 335 million people through our High five programs. We deliver great value.”
The AfDB president also said on Twitter that an independent survey by a global HR firm found that 85% of staff are happy with the bank, which is a very high number for any organization in the world. He also said that despite COVID-19 and the difficulties of working from home, 97% of staff were happy with what the bank gave them.
He told me, “IT services help.” Our accomplishments, excellent management, good governance systems, and the Bank’s work cannot be denied or misrepresented based on lies, distortions, and false information made up by people outside of the fort to hurt our reputation.
“We’ll tell you about ourselves. We will not be defined by people who cause trouble, tell lies, or have biases. We’re happy to be African. We will keep making Africa proud as the only AAA-rated financial institution in Africa.
“As we start the Bank’s Annual Meetings for 2022, I want to thank the Board of Governors, Board of Directors, Management, and all the hardworking Bank staff for their hard work.”
I’d like to thank all of our 81 shareholder countries for their trust and help.”
- Tags: AfDB, Africa, Akinwumi Adesina
