The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed a partnership agreement on Monday. The objective is to boost private sector financing in Africa.

The financing gap in the fight against climate change is estimated at between 68 and 100 billion dollars per year. The agreement signed by the two institutions plans to develop “new sources of financing” and “unlock investment opportunities” for the private sector and in particular African SMEs, with “particular attention” for adaptation to “change climate” by financing “resilient infrastructure”, specified the two banks in a joint press release.

“This agreement with the EBRD is very important for us, because the major challenge for Africa first concerns infrastructure. The financing gap in this area is estimated at between 68 and 100 billion dollars per year,” explained AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina when signing the partnership on Monday. According to him, “the bank deploys significant resources, but cannot finance all these operations alone, it needs additional resources”.