Annual Report 2019 on EIB Activity in Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the Overseas Countries and Territories

FOREWORD

 Ambroise Fayolle
 EIB Vice-President 
The spread of COVID-19 poses a particular threat for fragile countries and those in conflict. The inter
national community is taking steps to improve the resilience of these countries and mitigate the worst 
socio-economic consequences of the pandemic. At the same time, we continue to see a global push for 
institutions and governments to do more to support populations threatened by the climate crisis. The target 
delivery date of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals is 2030. The targets set out by the Paris 
Agreement for emissions, finance for climate action and adaptation require us to act fast. Developing and 
emerging economies across the world require investment to give them the wherewithal to provide 
opportunities for their people and resilience to economic shocks, such as the one caused by the coronavirus. 
The European Union is at the forefront of these efforts. As the financial arm of the European Union, it is the 
EIB’s role to support these policies, and some of the most impactful work the EIB Group does is in sub
Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP). Over the course of 2019, we approved 39 new operations 
for a combined potential investment of €1.895 billion. Signatures for the year reached €1.355 billion for 42 
projects worth a total of €5.784 billion across all of our sources of financing: the ACP Investment Facility 
revolving fund – including the Impact Financing Envelope, our own resources, risk facilities and the dedicated 
window of the External Lending Mandate for the Republic of South Africa. My colleagues at the EIB’s 
Luxembourg headquarters and in our regional offices across the ACP regions make this happen year after 
year. Once again, I congratulate them wholeheartedly.
 The EIB has four major priorities in the ACP regions: private sector development, vital infrastructure, climate 
action and regional integration. These are our cornerstones. We believe that the best way to tackle poverty 
is to invest in the private sector and the conditions that enable it to grow. Financial institutions need to have 
the capacity to lend to small businesses. Populations in cities and rural areas across the ACP regions lack 
access to essential services such as water, sanitation, electricity, transport links and telecommunications. Sub
Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific all face different challenges to meet these needs. The EIB is 
flexible enough to finance impactful projects that address these needs

If we look at some of the operations signed in 2019, we can see that the average size of our loans has gone 
down since 2018. This is because the proportion of smaller, higher-impact, riskier operations has increased. 
53% of our total financing in the ACP regions is going to less developed and fragile countries. This proportion 
is higher than usual and indicates that we are putting our funds to work for populations that need it most: 
the countries that are most vulnerable to economic shocks and that need to build resilience to give their 
people a chance to fulfil their ambitions. 
We also signed the first two operations under the SheInvest for Africa initiative. This initiative is of crucial 
importance. Put simply, sustainable economic development cannot happen if population groups are 
marginalised. Women and girls are underfunded and underbanked: the world needs to take proactive steps 
to address this. SheInvest for Africa aims to catalyse €1 billion in funding for projects that support women 
and girls. The Women’s World Banking Fund and the investment in the Uganda Development Bank under the 
East Africa SME-focused Regional Facility are doing precisely that, by providing financing for female 
entrepreneurs in Africa. The former will provide thousands of small loans to micro-entrepreneurs; the latter 
focuses on larger employers.
 A cornerstone of economic development is having access to electricity, and one of the EIB’s priorities is 
renewable energy. Several of the projects we have financed in 2019 showcase this and demonstrate our 
commitment to a clean energy mix. Using our own resources, we are investing in an upgrade to Ghana’s 
Kpong hydropower plant, which will help power over 1.7 million households in the country. At the same time, 
we are also investing in photovoltaic solar plants in Senegal, supporting the World Bank’s Scaling Solar 
initiative, as well as off-grid, individual solar power kits for homes and businesses in Mozambique and Malawi. 
These can benefit millions of people who may otherwise not get access to grid power.
 We already feel the effects of climate change on a global scale, and the ACP regions are more vulnerable than 
most. In the Dominican Republic we are supporting the construction of climate-resilient social infrastructure 
to ensure safe housing and transport for people and services. In São Tomé and Príncipe, we are helping make 
the main road in the capital city safer. Digitalisation is also a primary means of economic development. We 
are investing in an energy-efficient mobile telecommunications project in Guinea that will both extend data 
services for urban and rural populations and make significant emissions savings.
 The EIB is in the privileged position to be able to invest in projects of all shapes and sizes. We have the 
financial instruments to support large-scale public sector initiatives like water and sanitation services in Niger 
and Madagascar and a significant road upgrade in Malawi, emerging equity investors like the LeapFrog 
Emerging Consumer Fund, and microfinance institutions like Kafo Jiginew in Mali. 
Since its launch in 2003, the ACP Investment Facility has proven to be an efficient and effective tool to 
support European Union development policies in our partner countries. During this time, the EIB has 
financed 402 projects with total investment of €13.4 billion across the ACP regions. €7.7 billion of this has 
been through the Investment Facility, with the other €5.7 billion coming from our own resources. €8 billion 
has gone to private sector projects, and €5.4 billion to the public sector. 
Over the coming years, we will all need to work together more if we are to ensure that developing and 
emerging economies get the support and investment they need to thrive. As the EU bank, the EIB is ready to 
deepen our engagement with the European Commission and the European External Action Service to help 
fulfil our shared goals. As a financial institution, we are prepared to work with our partner countries and our 
fellow multilateral development banks and development finance institutions to create opportunities for as 
many people as possible. The EIB is a long-term financier and partner for sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean 
and the Pacific. We remain committed to helping all three regions meet their challenges and improve lives 
for all people.

Annual Report 2019 on EIB Activity in Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the Overseas Countries and Territories