AfDB has impacted 355m Africans – Adesina

The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, has said the bank’s financing has had an impact on 355 million people across the continent.

Mr Adesina spoke Tuesday at the African Delivery Unit Exchange Conference in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

He said growth must translate into meaningful impacts on the lives of people and what should be measured is not the quantum of economic growth, but the quantum of growth in the quality of life of people.

“This is what President Kenyatta called ‘delivery imperative’ to close what he called ‘the empty space’ between policy and program conceptualization and delivery for people.

“That is what motivated me, when I was first elected President of the African Development Bank in 2015, to sharply focus our work on the High5s: Light up and power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialize Africa; Integrate Africa; and Improve the Quality of Life of the People of Africa.

“Focus is the foundation for success. In the past five years, our financing has impacted 335 million people.”

Mr Adesina listed some of the bank’s investments to include the Lake Turkana project, the largest wind power plant in Africa; the last mile electricity connectivity project now connecting over 1.2 million low-income Kenyans to electricity; and the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant in Morocco.

“Our work on regional integration supported the landmark Senegambia Bridge, linking Senegal and Gambia, the 1,000 km Addis-Ababa-Nairobi-Mombasa highway linking Kenya and Ethiopia that has increased trade by 400% between both countries,” he said.

“You can feel the impact of the Bank all across Africa.”

Mr Adesina said the AfDB is focused on supporting governments to translate their vision into reality.

“That’s why the Bank has supported a few African countries to establish Delivery Units to speed up their transformation processes. We are delighted to work on this with the former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair through the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

“President Kenyatta is rolling out fast, with impressive results, his impactful Big 4, agenda thanks to the President’s Delivery Unit in Kenya. I commend all the Cabinet Secretaries supporting the President to deliver and close the ‘empty space’.

“The key is faster, better, results. My experience, both as a Minister in Nigeria and as President of the African Development Bank, has taught me some lessons on delivery.

“First, nothing gets done without a very clear vision. The more complex your vision, the less your chances of success. No one can implement what they do not understand.

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