Through the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) High-5 priorities, the group invested close to US$11 billion in projects and programmes across the continent through the course of 2016. Its annual Development Effectiveness Review – which was recently released during a gathering in Ahmedabad, India – shows that the number of operations on the continent (including the AfDB’s Light up and Power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialise Africa, and Integrate Africa) rose to 305 last year from 241 in 2015, and created 1.6 million jobs.
According to an Asoko Insight report, US$5.6 billion went towards improving quality of life of Africans through various initiatives, representing 52.3% of the total approvals. Meanwhile, approvals for Light up and Power Africa increased by 72.8% to US$2 billion; operations targeting Feed Africa rose by 66% to US$1.2 billion; and Industrialise Africa shot up by 43.5% to US$1.3 billion.
