Zambia has voiced strong backing for African Development Bank Group President Dr Sidi Ould Tah’s push for a new African financial architecture that strengthens the continent’s economic sovereignty.
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema expressed this support during discussions with Dr Ould Tah at State House in Lusaka on 9 October 2025, following Zambia’s successful hosting of a third meeting for the 17th replenishment cycle of the African Development Fund (ADF-17).
The talks underscored the strong partnership between the African Development Bank and Zambia, as well as the country’s growing leadership in Africa’s drive for economic transformation and financial sovereignty.
Dr Ould Tah thanked President Hichilema and the Zambian people for hosting the ADF-17 replenishment meeting, a key milestone in mobilising concessional resources for Africa’s most vulnerable countries. He also commended Zambia for a pledge of $5 million to ADF-17.
“Zambia’s generosity, leadership, and partnership inspire us all,” said Dr Ould Tah. “Your country’s development trajectory embodies what the ADF seeks to achieve: resilience, inclusion, and self-determination.
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President Hichilema emphasised the need for Africa to reduce its dependence on external financing and to address structural imbalances that impose high borrowing costs on African economies. Global credit assessments, he noted, often undervalue African assets and potential, resulting in a persistently high cost of capital.
As one of the African Union’s Champions of Global Financial Architecture Reform, which advocates strengthening Africa’s financial architecture and putting Africa in a stronger position in the global financial system, President Hichilema welcomed Dr Ould Tah’s commitment to greater coherence and harmonisation among Africa’s financial institutions. This includes multilateral development of banks and regional funds, to scale up domestic resource mobilisation and blended finance solutions.
Energy Access and Economic Transformation
The two leaders also reviewed progress under Mission 300, a joint African Development Bank Group-World Bank initiative working to extend electricity to an additional 300 million Africans by 2030.
President Hichilema highlighted that Zambia had been among the first countries to sign a Mission 300 National Energy Compact during the Africa Energy Summit held in Dar es Salaam in January 2025. Under the compact, Zambia aims to achieve universal electricity access by 2030, raise the share of non-hydro renewables to 33 percent, and mobilise $11.9 billion in investment, 82 percent of this coming from the private sector.
“Energy access is the lifeblood of industrialisation,” President Hichilema said. “Zambia stands ready to work with the African Development Bank Group to expand this compact model into manufacturing and regional value chains.”
The leaders also agreed on the strategic importance of developing transport and trade corridors as the backbone of Africa’s economic integration and industrial growth.
“By working together, we can turn transport corridors into corridors of prosperity,” said Dr Ould Tah.
“The African Development Bank Group will remain a steadfast partner in building the infrastructure that connects markets, creates jobs, and powers Africa’s integration.”
President Hichilema outlined Zambia’s plan to transform itself into a land-linked hub through investments in the North–South and Lobito transport corridors, both supported by the African Development Bank Group.
A Partnership for Sustainable Development
Dr Ould Tah commended Zambia’s progress in restoring macroeconomic stability and investor confidence under President Hichilema’s leadership, with GDP growth projected to reach 6.2% in 2025, driven by gains in energy, agriculture, and record copper production.
He noted that Zambia’s reform momentum and improved debt sustainability are creating renewed space for growth and investment, positioning the country as a model of fiscal discipline and resilience.
The African Development Bank Group has committed to supporting Zambia’s structural transformation through its 2024-2029 Country Strategy Paper, which focuses on energy, agriculture, transport, skills, and private-sector development.
Cumulative ADF support to Zambia exceeds $900 million, financing transformative projects such as the Kazungula Bridge, the Nacala Road Corridor, the Livestock Infrastructure Project, and the Science and Technology Education Project, which has strengthened STEM capacity in universities and technical institutions nationwide.
The meeting concluded with a joint commitment to deepen collaboration between Zambia and the African Development Bank Group to advance Africa’s sovereignty, integration, industrialization, and human capital – the four cardinal points of Dr. Ould Tah’s strategic vision.
