The African Development Bank (AfDB) has said its portfolio could grow by more than double after announcing plans to open new offices in Benin, Guinea and Niger, which comes as part of its decentralisation strategy.
The strategy was first launched by the bank in 2006 in order to move its operations closer to its clients and boost development in fragile states through an increase in on-the-ground presence. The bank has earmarked US$7.3 million for the opening and running of the three offices.
“Our presidents are asking for these offices because they see us as partners of choice. Experience has demonstrated that shuttling in and out of these countries does not yield viable solutions,” Akinwumi Adesina, the bank’s president, said in a statement.
According to the AfDB, a field office in Benin could boost the bank’s portfolio by 110 percent, increasing its size from US$355 million to US$747 million. It has also claimed that the ratio of total capital disbursed within a full year to that capital which available at the start of a year could jump from 39 percent to 60 percent. Adding to the bank’s predictions is its claim the office will lead to a fall of 40 percent in flagged development projects by 2019, though flagged project are not necessarily projects that are at risk.
The bank’s Angola and Burkina Faso offices, which opened in 2011 and 2006 respectively, provide the models upon which the new offices will be based.
Combining a field office in Guinea, a country that has yet to unlock its indigenous natural resources’ potential according to the bank, could increase the bank’s portfolio by well over 250 percent from US$275 million to more than US$1 billion by 2019.
The African Development Bank employs a country economist in Benin and Guinea but has no presence currently in Niger.