Continued partnership for specific projects

The President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, and the deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Nancy Lee, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on future collaboration on the sidelines of the bank’s annual meetings in Lusaka, Zambia.
The Millenium Challenge Account Namibia, funded by the Millenium Challenge Corporation, was actively involved in funding rural projects until it withdrew from Namibia last year.
Speaking at the signing of the MoU, Dr Adesina said he was excited to work with the corporation because the sectors they focus on and the work-to-scale approach based on good analytics fits well with the bank’s High 5 priorities and its emerging business culture.
Adesina suggested that both sides get together and quickly focus on three major areas – regional integration that would require investing in infrastructure across borders, energy with a focus on value addition to the huge renewable resources in Africa, and tapping the capital markets for private sector investment.
“I would be more delighted with our teams getting together so that we can begin work as fast as possible,” he said.
Speaking earlier, Lee said the MoU builds on existing collaboration between the two institutions which goes back to October 2010.
Lee said it was time to move to the next level focusing on three areas to achieve scale and impact. The focal areas are developing the best projects for economic growth and poverty reduction, regional integration and mobilising private sector.