Long Term Finance

Project description

The overarching objective of this project was to create similar progress as regards long-term finance (LTF) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) as has been achieved in the past decade on financial inclusion. This objective was accomplished by developing an LTF scoreboard, improving the availability of public data on long-term finance markets in SSA. This project complemented similar efforts, such as the FinScope and FinAccess surveys on financial inclusion and more detailed diagnostic work produced by financial sector development (FSD) programmes across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The LTF scoreboard addresses critical information gaps for market stakeholders (donors, DFIs, private and public investors, pension funds, global Africa, frontier market funds, etc.). It makes data accessible for investment decision-makers in Africa. This data will help decision-makers identify the most effective and efficient ways to further deepen domestic markets by mobilising private resources and leveraging public funding.

This project will create greater investor confidence in the markets in Africa and catalyse new partnerships (including within the G20) in developing LT financing markets in Africa. With the German government’s (as chair of the G20) focus on LT finance, the project could mobilise multi-donor commitment for building catalytic market information on LT finance across Africa. This project will ultimately lead to more significant LT finance resource mobilisation to address Africa’s long-term social and economic challenges.

Target Results

• Policy and regulatory reforms that will increase the volume and accessibility of long-term finance.
• Closing information gaps and drawing investors’ attention to individual markets and unexploited opportunities.
• Raising awareness of the current use of less well-known sources of long-term financing.

Progress to date

• The LTF scoreboard was finalised. The LTF website is up and running (https://altf.afdb.org/). AfDB hosts the database and will disseminate data from the scoreboard annually.
• A diagnostic of the Long-term Finance landscape in Cote D’Ivoire was completed and launched in Abidjan.
• A diagnostic of the Long-term Finance landscape in Ghana has been completed. Discussions on possible launch dates are ongoing.

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