Lome, February 16, 2022 . BOAD successfully completes the first stage of its capital increase for an amount representing more than half of its objective of 1.5 billion dollars. In order to meet the growing financing needs of the States of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), accentuated by the Covid-19 crisis, and to support sustainable and socially inclusive economic development, BOAD has decided to proceed with a capital increase. In September 2020, BOAD’s Board of Directors thus approved the bank’s new strategic plan (the “Djoliba” plan), which plans to rely on a capital increase of 1.5 billion US dollars (i.e. 837 billion FCFA) allowing the institution to double its level of equity in order to enable it to increase its level of commitments by more than 50% over the next five years.
The regional shareholders of BOAD (Series A), made up of the eight WAEMU Member States, who play a leading role in this capital increase, are working to take all the necessary measures to accompany and support their Regional Development Bank. alongside the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), in this useful and necessary change of scale for the proper execution of the Djoliba 2021-2025 plan.
The non-regional shareholders of BOAD (Series B) which are Germany, the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, China, France, the Kingdom of Belgium and the Kingdom of Morocco are part of the same momentum of support for BOAD and the economies of the WAEMU zone. Some of them, in particular France, the African Development Bank and the Kingdom of Morocco, are preparing to subscribe to this capital increase from 2022, thereby strengthening the institution’s equity as well as its capacity to intervention.
The success of this joint mobilization of the Bank’s regional and non-regional shareholders is an essential first step in the realization of the institution’s capital increase and the deployment of its strategic plan for the next five years.
Serge Ekué, President of BOAD, said in reaction to the conclusion of this first stage: “This first milestone in the Bank’s capital increase is a historic moment for our institution. This strong support from our shareholders illustrates the robustness of our equity as well as the commitment of our partners to support BOAD’s action within the WAEMU region. It will make it possible to significantly increase our capacity for action in the service of the economic development of the area and regional integration”.
About BOAD
The West African Development Bank (BOAD) is the common development financing institution of the States of the West African Monetary Union (UMOA). A public institution of an international nature, the purpose of BOAD, under the terms of Article 2 of its statutes, is “to promote the balanced development of Member States and to achieve the economic integration of West Africa” by financing priority development projects. It is accredited with the three climate finance financing mechanisms (GEF, AF, GCF). Since 2009, BOAD sits as an observer at the UNFCCC and actively participates in discussions relating to the construction of an international climate finance architecture. Since January 2013, it has housed the first Regional Collaborating Center (CRC) on the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), the aim of which is to provide direct support to governments, NGOs and the private sector, for the identification and the development of CDM projects. It is an active member of the International Development Finance Club (IDFC) which brings together 24 national, regional and bilateral development banks and of the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IITA).
