TheCable

A coalition of ten multilateral development banks (MDBs) has launched a new co-financing platform to enable them to channel additional capital for development scale and impact.

The financial institutions are the African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Council of Europe Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, New Development Bank, and World Bank Group.

Launched on Friday at the ongoing annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group, the global collaborative co-financing platform will consist of the digital co-financing portal which will create a secure platform for registered co-financiers to share project pipelines.

The portal, hosted at the World Bank, is expected to increase efficiency and transparency and make it easier for MDBs to share information and identify opportunities for co-financing.

According to a statement, the second component of the platform, tagged, ‘Co-Financing Forum’ would provide a space for participants to discuss co-financing opportunities, best practices, and common issues, and also support ongoing efforts to coordinate policies to reduce the burden on partner countries.

“For countries, the new platform will reduce the administrative burden and transaction costs, and enable better coordinated financing in line with their priorities — resulting in greater development impact,” the World Bank said.

“By leveraging partnerships and promoting transparency, the platform will enable MDBs, partner agencies, and client countries to address global challenges more effectively and efficiently.”

The Bretton Wood institution said strengthening partnerships is a key element of its new playbook aimed at boosting impact.

The multilateral bank said co-financing has been identified as an effective way to improve strategic alignment, crowd in concessional resources, promote efficiency, and strengthen coordination.

On April 18, the World Bank and AfDB reached a partnership arrangement to boost access to electricity in Africa.

The partnership would provide at least 300 million people in Africa with access to power supply by 2030.