African Development Bank approves new five-year strategy for Nigeria amidst COVID-19 concerns

he Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved Nigeria’s Country Strategy Paper (CSP) 2020-2024, which builds on the successes and challenges of the 2013-2019 edition, and incorporates emerging developmental realities and opportunities shaping Nigeria’s political and economic landscape, including in the post-COVID-19 period.

The approval was made on 27 May 2020.

Ebrima Faal, Senior Director for the African Development Bank in Nigeria, re-affirmed the institution’s support for Nigeria’s socio-economic advancement. “In the implementation of the CSP, the Bank will also support Nigeria to address economic shocks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and oil price shocks by focusing our interventions in sectors that will strengthen public health infrastructure and accelerate efforts towards economic transformation and diversification of export earnings and fiscal revenues from oil.”

The 2020-2024 CSP identifies supporting infrastructure development and promoting social inclusion through agribusiness and skills development as key priority areas for Nigeria. These priorities have been selected to leverage Nigeria’s rich endowment of natural and human resources toward transforming the lives of its people. It is in this context that the new CSP has been customized to support government efforts in confronting challenges and  to foster long-term,  socially inclusive  development.

Under the CSP, the Bank will deploy a combination of sovereign and non-sovereign financing instruments to support the  two priority areas, including investment and institutional support projects, evidence based analytical work in numerous economic sectors, policy dialogue and provision of advisory services. Special focus will be put on supporting the Nigerian private sector, in terms of financing and advisory services, and on Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) initiatives that enable innovative, long-term investment in energy, transport and water and sanitation.

The Strategy Paper is the result of participatory consultations with a range of key stakeholders, both state and non-state actors as well as bilateral and multilateral development partners. The CSP is fully aligned with the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy, the High 5 priorities and Nigeria’s own Economic Reform and Growth Plan (ERGP), as well as the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As of December 2019, the Bank Group’s active portfolio in Nigeria comprised 61 operations, with a total commitment of about $5 billion. Of the total active operations, 29 were in the public sector, with a commitment of $2 billion (43%) and 32 non-sovereign operations with a total commitment of $3 billion, equivalent to 57% of the total portfolio.