The EIB disbursed almost 5 billion euros to Africa in 2020. This represents a 50% increase on the previous year, in line with the 27 billion euros already invested in the continent over the past 10 years.
Combating climate change, a priority sector
In the wake of the damage caused by the Covid-19 crisis, the EIB intervened in both North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, and in equal parts in the public and private sectors. Priority sectors are clearly identified:
- the fight against climate change,
- the environment,
- health.
Adaptation to climate change is present in two-thirds of the projects financed.
In the healthcare sector, the European Investment Bank and the European Commission have invested one billion euros to create a favorable environment for the local manufacture of vaccines in Africa, and to remove obstacles on both the supply and demand sides.
Other EIB investments include €150 million to support " SheInvest ", a new initiative to promote gender equality and economic empowerment for women in Africa.
At a time when it is also having to deal with the consequences of the health crisis, the EIB continues to finance cohesion, development and climate action. Financing of development projects outside the EU exceeded 10 billion euros, with record flows to Africa.
The EIB steps up its international partnerships
The European Investment Bank devotes a great deal of resources to creating partnerships to improve the responsiveness of its operations. These links enable the Bank toensure synergy between its loans and the Union's budgetary aid instruments, through initiatives such as JASPERS and InnovFin. They also aim to meet the expectations of civil society by ensuring the transparency of EIB operations and providing information about them.
In 2020, for example, the EIB signed a partnership agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO) to step up emergency aid to ten African countries. The Bank has also renewed its partnership agreement with UNDP, the United Nations Development Programme, with the aim ofstepping up its support for countries facing emergency situations due to epidemics, natural disasters or other factors of fragility. 5 years ago, the two institutions had already signed a memorandum of understanding enabling them to address global challenges and exchange knowledge in areas such as migration, climate change and crisis response. Since then, they have collaborated on a number of projects, including the rehabilitation and reconstruction of essential infrastructure, integrated border management and the renovation of public buildings.