By Francis Ajuonuma
The president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has said building bridges between international capitals and African markets is essential to advancing economic opportunities.
He emphasised this when he recently visited the United Bank for Africa (UBA UK) Limited office in London.
Adesina, who has consistently advocated for Africa as the new investment frontier, challenged the misconceptions about risk on the continent.
He referenced Moody’s Analytics findings showing that Africa’s investment default rate over the past 14 years stands at just 1.7 per cent, significantly lower than any other region in the world, including Latin America’s 13 per cent and Eastern Europe’s 10 per cent—evidence that the perception of risk in Africa is often misaligned with reality.
Adesina acknowledged the historical relationship between the African Development Bank Group and UBA Group, which spans over two decades. Discussions centred on areas of mutual interest, including potential avenues for supporting Africa’s financial systems and sustainable economic development.
“Our relationship with UBA represents one of many important partnerships the African Development Bank Group maintains with African financial institutions. Over the years, our engagement has evolved, reflecting our shared interest in supporting Africa’s economic landscape,” Adesina noted.
Welcoming the AfDB delegation, the CEO of UBA UK, Theresa Henshaw, provided an overview of her bank’s operations in the United Kingdom, stating, “Our core focus is to facilitate trade, investment, and aid flows into Africa, leveraging our deep understanding of the African financial landscape.”
The meeting explored several other sectors of interest to the AfDB’s development agenda, including agriculture, energy, women’s financial inclusion, and youth entrepreneurship.
Adesina highlighted the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative, which he designed and was officially launched by the French G7 Presidency in 2019. The program addresses Africa’s women-led businesses’ estimated $49 billion financing gap.
As of March 2025, the AfDB Group, through AFAWA, had approved $2.5 billion in financing, with more than $1.2 billion already distributed to women entrepreneurs through a network of 185 AFAWA partner financial institutions in 44 African countries. The initiative has benefited more than 24,000 African women through financing and capacity-building programmes.
