National Investment Bank (NIB), the country’s foremost Development Finance Institution, will host senior management and experts in development finance across Africa in Accra from May 23 to 25 for the 2022 General Assembly of the Association of African Development Finance Institutions (AADFI).

The three-day Assembly will occur at the Labadi Beach Resort under the theme 'Unlocking Innovative Resources for Development Finance: Agenda for African DFIs.'

It comes when NIB is being restructured to support industrial corporates with funding and advisory services in line with the Government’s industrialisation program.

Over the past few years, Africa has made strides in the area of Banking and Finance, Agriculture, Education, Health, and Infrastructure development, among others, all geared toward lifting the people out of poverty.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic has not only crippled economies worldwide but also succeeded in clawing back the gains made, slowing down and, in some cases stopping entirely or stalling progress for many institutions and nations alike.

For NIB, the 2022 AADFI Annual General Assembly will provide a platform for stakeholders to re-strategize ways to obtain more investment for sustainable, environmentally-friendly developmental projects and ecosystems that will help Africa endure and withstand the shocks of future pandemics.

It will also provide an opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences from different institutions and countries in development financing.

Activities

The event will feature the Board of Directors meeting, the Annual Workshop, and the Ordinary General Assembly of the AADFI. It will also include a Retreat for Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of National DFIs.

Focus Area

The 2022 AADFI Annual General Assembly will examine options for raising suitable development funds to support the recoveries of the African economies, as well as the possibilities and most innovative financing instruments available to African DFIs.

Solutions on innovative financing for development will also be proffered toward positively impacting the economy.

The role of Ghana’s development finance institutions – National Investment Bank (NIB), Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), Ghana Export-Import Bank (GEXIM), and Development Bank Ghana (DBG) – in development will be highlighted, and the need for them to be given the necessary support to perform.

The issue of managing local currency risks and hedging solutions will also be presented, which will offer the opportunity to discuss solutions for strengthening the resilience of national DFIs in mobilising innovative resources for development projects.

Beyond the issues to be discussed, the annual event of the AADFI provides a unique platform for networking among the DFI community.

Speakers

The key speakers include the Vice-President of the Private Sector, Infrastructure, and Industrialisation of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Solomon Quaynor; the CEO of the European Organisation for Sustainable Development (EOSD), Arshad Rab; and the CEO of the TCX Fund, Ruurd Brouwer; among others.

The event will be attended by CEOs and Senior Management Executives of African DFIs, supervisory authorities, including Ministries of Finance and Central Banks, representatives of International DFI and Agencies, and other key stakeholders in the Development Finance space.

The 2022 AADFI Annual General Assembly is hosted by the National Investment Bank (NIB), the country’s foremost development finance institution (DFI).

NIB, therefore, has a crucial role to play in the Development Banking Space, especially in the advent of the establishment of DBG.

Whereas NIB will continue to focus directly on industrial corporates by providing medium to long-term financing and advisory services, the DBG will complement the services of NIB by serving as a source of medium to long-term financing at reasonable interest rates to NIB for on-lending.