MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AfDB Launches Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility in Effort to Bring 332m People - Mostly Women - into Formal Economy

The African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution providing loans and grants to governments and private companies on the continent, recently announced the launch of the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion (ADFI) facility, a “financing facility designed to accelerate digital financial inclusion across Africa, with a goal of ensuring that 332 million more Africans, of whom 60 percent are women, have access to the formal economy.”

The funders of ADFI include the US-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the governments of France and Luxembourg. The goal of ADFI is to disburse USD 100 million in grants and USD 300 million in loans by 2030 with the objective of boosting “electronic financial services for low-income communities.” In early 2019, as part of a pilot stage of ADFI, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation granted USD 11.3 million to AfDB and the Central Bank of West African States to “create an interoperable digital payment system that will allow consumers to send and receive money between mobile wallets, and from these wallets to other digital and bank accounts.”

AfDB President Akinwunmi Adesina said, “We believe that with the right investments in innovation and smart digital growth, the obstacles to achieving financial inclusion and greater economic opportunity for all will be overcome…”.

AfDB is a member of the African Development Bank Group along with the African Development Fund and the Nigerian Trust Fund. Founded in 1964, AfDB holds capital of UA 67.0 billion (USD 93.0 billion) as of 2018. During that year, it made new loan disbursements of UA 2.92 billion (USD 4.04 billion). It has 80 member nations.

By Jolene Khor, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

AfDB press release: “Launch of the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility”
https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/launch-of-the-africa-digital-financial-inclusion-facility-19333/

AfDB press release: “African Development Bank, partners launch new fund to boost digital financial inclusion”
https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/african-development-bank-partners-launch-new-fund-to-boost-digital-financial-inclusion-19355/

AfDB UA exchange rates
https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Financial-Information/December_2018_Exchange_Rates.xlsx

AfDB homepage
https://www.afdb.org

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation homepage
https://www.gatesfoundation.org

Agence Française de Développement homepage
https://www.afd.fr

The government of Luxembourg homepage
https://gouvernement.lu

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