African Development Bank Honored as DFI of the Year at TXF Global 2024 Conference

Accepting the award, Hassatou N’Sele, AfDB Vice-President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer, expressed her delight at the recognition.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has been awarded the prestigious Development Finance Institution (DFI) of the Year accolade at the TXF GLOBAL 2024 Export, Project & Development Finance Conference. This recognition celebrates AfDB's pioneering efforts in multilateral development bank (MDB) innovation.

The bank was lauded for its groundbreaking hybrid capital issuance earlier this year. In January, AfDB successfully issued a $750 million, 10.5-year perpetual non-call hybrid capital, marking a significant milestone in MDB financial innovations. This issuance not only set a new benchmark but also introduced a promising new asset class of MDB hybrid offerings, aligning with the G20 Capital Adequacy Framework Review recommendations.

TXF Global 2024, organized by TXF (export finance), Proximo (project finance), and Uxolo (development finance), convened over 1,500 representatives from export credit agencies, development finance institutions, exporters, borrowers, project sponsors, state-owned enterprises, government ministries, commercial banks, private market insurers, brokers, law firms, and institutional investors. The conference took place in Athens from June 11-12.

Accepting the award, Hassatou N’Sele, AfDB Vice-President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer, expressed her delight at the recognition. “The Bank is very keen to continue to explore financial innovations to boost its capacity to deliver on its development mandate, especially in the context of the G20 challenge to MDBs to be bigger, better and bolder,” she said.

The award underscores AfDB's commitment to promoting economic development in Africa and its pivotal role in providing financing and expertise to foster sustainable economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve living conditions across the continent.

This recognition comes on the heels of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board’s approval of using Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) for acquiring hybrid capital instruments by MDBs on June 11th, an initiative championed by the African Development Bank and the InterAmerican Development Bank.