Member's Documents
Evaluation of the Bank’s Role in Increasing Access to Finance in Africa
Published by: Independent Development Evaluation, African Development Bank
Promoting inclusive growth is one of the two overarching objectives of the Ten-Year Strategy (2013-2022) of the African Development Bank (“AfDB” or “the Bank”). While there has been substantial progress over the past decade, limited access to finance continues to be a key constraint for households and firms in Africa, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The environment in which African financial systems operate has also changed significantly in recent years, as recalled in the Bank’s 2014-2019 Financial Sector Development Policy and Strategy (FSDPS). In line with the Ten-Year Strategy, increasing access to finance while paying particular attention to reaching the traditionally underserved was one of the three objectives of the FSDPS, while the two others were to deepen financial markets and to safeguard the stability of Africa’s financial system.
