Madar (International) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed on Friday, 13 November 2026, in Tokyo a concessional loan agreement of 86.6 billion yen, about 583.4 million dollars, to support the seventeenth replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF-17), according to a statement from the Bank.
The agreement was signed by the Bank Group's Mauritanian president, Sidi Ould Tah, and JICA President Akihiko Tanaka, in the presence of Kazuki Watanabe of the International Bureau of Japan's Ministry of Finance, according to the same source.
Tanaka said the financing was "the largest financial support ever provided by JICA to the African Development Fund under official development assistance", adding that it reflected confidence in ADF-17's ability to help African countries tackle urgent and interconnected challenges.
"ADF-17 mobilised a record 11 billion dollars from 44 partners. But our ambition goes beyond replenishment. Through the New African Financial Architecture for Development, we are transforming the way Africa mobilises and deploys development finance," Ould Tah said.
According to the Bank, the loan widens access to affordable development finance for Africa's lowest-income countries and will support investment in essential infrastructure, energy access, food security and regional integration.
It delivers on a commitment made by Japan's Ministry of Finance at the ADF-17 pledging session in December 2025 and complements Japan's other contributions to the Fund, including grants and compensation under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, which together total about 600 million dollars, the Bank said.
The signing followed a ceremony on 5 November at the Bank's headquarters in Abidjan, during which official diplomatic notes on the commitment were exchanged between the Bank and Japan.
Japan joined the African Development Fund in 1973 and the African Development Bank in 1982. Ould Tah has headed the Bank Group since September 2025.
