Driving Africa's economic development

The Arab Development Bank is setting its sights on doubling funding in Africa to accelerate infrastructure development. In an exclusive interview with CNBC Africa, Diab Karrar, Chief Operations Officer at Badea, shed light on the bank’s ambitious plan to bridge the gap in affordable housing and infrastructure financing on the African continent. Karrar emphasized the critical need for partnership with multilateral institutions like Shelter Africa and Development Bank to achieve tangible results on the ground. The Arab Development Bank's focus areas include military and social infrastructure, education, health, agriculture value chains, SMEs, women employment, youth development, and capacity building for African institutions. With a current portfolio of $13.7 billion, including $5.3 billion dedicated to infrastructure, the bank is celebrating 50 years of economic development in Africa and is poised to double its funding to further support Africa's growth.