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The African Development Bank Group and Canada are consolidating their partnership into a single investment framework that brings together development finance, export credit, climate finance, and private-sector engagement.
The move follows a visit to Canada in April 2026 by Bank Group president Sidi Ould Tah, during which the Canadian government announced a series of commitments totalling more than $457 million (CAD 633 million).
Canada announced a $180 million (CAD 250.3 million) contribution to the African Development Fund’s seventeenth replenishment, strengthening the fund’s capacity to provide concessional resources to low-income countries.
It also committed $72 million (CAD 100 million) to the Agri-SME Catalytic Financing Mechanism and made a $7.2 million (CAD 10 million) equity investment in the African Guarantee Fund to back the Bank Group’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa initiative.
On climate, the two partners have deepened an existing relationship through CACF (Canada-African Development Bank Climate Fund) 2.0, backed by an additional $101 million (CAD 140 million) from Canada.
This follows the original Canada-African Development Bank Climate Fund established in 2021 with $96 million (CAD 132.9 million), which provides long-term concessional loans for climate mitigation and adaptation projects with gender-responsive design built in.
Canada is changing its approach to Africa as part of its Africa Strategy introduced in 2025. This strategy aims to strengthen economic connections, diversify trade, support the African Continental Free Trade Area, and increase development finance through organizations like FinDev Canada.
FinDev Canada has worked with the Bank Group since 2018 to focus on climate action, job creation, and women’s economic empowerment.
Canada has worked with the African Development Fund since 1973 and the African Development Bank since 1982. From 2021 to 2025, Canadian companies won 104 contracts funded by the Bank, totaling $44.25 million.
This framework aims to help increase access to long-term private investment for infrastructure, clean energy, agribusiness, and local businesses across Africa.
“This more integrated model can help expand access to long-term private-sector capital for resilient infrastructure, clean energy, agribusiness and local enterprise in regional member countries,” says the company.
It also offers Canada a trusted multilateral platform for advancing its Africa Strategy, diversifying economic partnerships and contributing to measurable development results.
For the Bank Group, it reinforces the value of partner platforms that combine public finance, private capital, technical expertise and shared priorities.
The announcement comes a few days after the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $15 million equity investment in the RMBV North Africa Fund III, a vehicle targeting mid-market growth companies across North Africa.
Italy’s development finance institution Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) has separately approved a $20 million equity investment in the same fund, bringing the combined commitment to $35 million.
