A New Agenda for African Development Finance in the 21st Century

On October 10, the Africa Growth Initiative at Brookings hosted the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Donald Kaberuka, for a conversation on African development finance for the 21st century.  Kaberuka discussed the importance of finding new and efficient ways to leverage private capital, as well as maximizing and sharing revenues from African countries’ natural resources.  

Donald Kaberuka is currently serving his second term as president of the African Development Bank.  Prior to joining the bank, he served as finance minister for Rwanda from 1997-2005, during which time he oversaw the country’s successful economic reconstruction after the end of its civil war.  During Kaberuka’s tenure at the AfDB, it has become Africa’s premier financial institution, including a doubling of its loans and grants in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis.  Today, its active portfolio stands at $25 billion, some two-thirds of which is spent on infrastructure.  In 2012, the AfDB committed around $7 billion, and has just completed its latest replenishment of the African Development Fund.

Deputy Director of the Brookings Global Economy and Development program Homi Kharas provided introductory remarks.  Brookings Senior Fellow Mwangi S. Kimenyi, director of the Africa Growth Initiative, moderated the discussion.

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