The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced that Phase 2 of its Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones programme—covering the remaining 28 Nigerian states—will commence in September 2025.
Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the outgoing President of the AfDB, disclosed this in a paper presented at the 2025 Standard Chartered Bank Africa Summit held recently in Lagos.
According to Adesina, Phase 1 of the project is already underway across eight states and the Federal Capital Territory. Construction work has begun in Kaduna, Cross River, Oyo, and Ogun States.
He reaffirmed his commitment to mobilising global capital for Africa’s development, a mission he vowed to pursue beyond the end of his presidency on 1st September 2025.
Delivering a keynote speech titled “Tilting Global Capital for Unlocking Investment Opportunities in Africa”, Adesina said:
“Let us tilt global capital to unlock Africa’s assets. As I step into a new future, this will remain my focus—I will always have Africa in my heart and in my sight.”
The summit, themed “Africa to the Globe: Innovation, Resilience, and Growth”, gathered key players including Standard Chartered’s Co-Heads of Corporate & Investment Banking, Sunil Kaushal and Roberto Hoornweg; Standard Chartered Nigeria CEO, Dalu Ajene; Nigeria’s Trade and Investment Minister, Dr Jumoke Oduwole; Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote; FSDH Group Chairman, Hakeem Belo-Osagie; and acclaimed author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Adesina highlighted the AfDB’s decade-long track record of financial innovation and efficient capital use.
“We are not just waiting for more capital; we are stretching every dollar through balance sheet optimisation.”
He outlined several notable achievements:
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$102 billion in low-cost financing to Africa since 2015.
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Expansion of the bank’s capital base from $93 billion in 2015 to $318 billion in 2024, the highest in its history.
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Co-leading the rechanneling of IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) for use as hybrid capital, which can be leveraged up to eightfold.
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Mobilising $225 billion in investment interest via the Africa Investment Forum since 2018.
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Issuing $14 billion in social bonds over the past eight years.
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Raising $10 billion in global benchmark bonds in 2025 alone.
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Completing the first synthetic securitisation of a non-sovereign portfolio by a multilateral development bank.
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Launching the first private sector hybrid capital transaction, valued at $750 million, attracting 275 investors with a $5.1 billion book order.
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Creating $2 billion in new sovereign lending headroom through its Room to Run Sovereign programme.
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Providing 16 credit guarantees worth $3 billion, mobilising $5 billion for the continent.
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Supporting Egypt’s $500 million Panda Bond, the first by an African nation on the Chinese market, with a $250 million partial credit guarantee.
He called on global financial institutions to collaborate more effectively with the AfDB and other multilateral banks to boost investment across Africa. He also emphasised the need to scale up risk mitigation tools, enhance ESG adoption, and expand local currency financing.
Dr Adesina was accompanied by his wife, Mrs Grace Yemisi Adesina, and senior AfDB officials, including Solomon Quaynor, Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation, and Dr Abdul Kamara, Director General of the Nigeria Country Department.
The AfDB currently holds its largest active portfolio in Nigeria, valued at $5.1 billion, with 52 ongoing operations evenly split between public and private sectors. National projects make up 84% of this portfolio, with multinational efforts accounting for 16%.