By Duncan Miriri
NAIROBI, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) raised $10.5 billion for its fund that lends money to low-income countries on favourable terms, it said on Tuesday, surpassing the previous replenishment round's figure but falling short of its initial target.
Officials at AfDB had initially aimed to raise $25 billion for the African Development Fund (ADF), which is replenished every three years, after raising $8.9 billion in 2022.
The AfDB, Africa's biggest development
lender, made the announcement after a two-day donor pledging conference in London, which was overshadowed by waning U.S. engagement.
"The meeting recorded unprecedented financial pledges from a significantly increased number of African countries," AfDB said in a statement.
Some 19 African nations, including Kenya, Zambia and Ivory Coast, made their first ever contributions to the fund, AfDB said, with African member states of the bank pledging a combined $194.5 million.
The AfDB's statement did not disclose whether the U.S. pledged any funding. The U.S. government has not commented.
The Trump administration pulled a $197 million funding tranche for the ADF in May, casting doubts about U.S. commitment in future fundraising.
The ADF has provided $45 billion to 37 low-income African countries since 1972, financing irrigation, roads and electricity projects.
Unlike the AfDB's main lending window, which carries higher interest rates and stricter conditions, the ADF offers grants and concessional loans with repayment periods exceeding 20 years.
Its role has grown as heavy debt burdens, shrinking aid and tighter global capital markets limit governments' access to finance.
"We are entering a new phase of development where concessional finance lays the groundwork for broader investment," said Sidi Ould Tah, AfDB's president.
The funds raised in London are the highest ever of all replenishment efforts in the ADF's 51-year history, AfDB said, adding it was achieved "despite heightened fiscal pressures and other global challenges."
The donor conference was co-hosted by Britain and Ghana.
AfDB has been seeking contributors to the fund after the U.S. pullback, cultivating new donor states, reviewing its charter to allow for the raising of $5 billion of seed funding from capital markets each cycle, and tapping philanthropic organisations.
(Reporting by Duncan Miriri, Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
