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Home / DFI Index / DFI Transparency Index 2023 / AfDB – sovereign
DFI

DFI Transparency Index 2023

AfDB – sovereign

Score:
73.0
Position:
2 / 9

Overview

The African Development Bank (AfDB) promotes regional cooperation and unity across the African region. Its sovereign portfolio provides non-concessional and concessional loans, grants, and technical assistance to low and middle-income governments. AfDB became an IATI member in 2011 and started publishing IATI data in June 2013. AfDB was established in 1964. 

Analysis

AfDB came second in the sovereign assessment with 73 out of 100. It is a publisher to the IATI Standard and has a free, bulk export available for its investment database. AfDB performed very well for Impact Management, coming first for the component. It also came in the top three for the other three components. 

AfDB’s sovereign portfolio came second in the Core Information component, with 22.06 out of 30. AfDB scored for sixteen of the seventeen indicators, only failing to score for the loan agreement/contract indicator. It scored 100% for eleven of these indicators because it publishes to IATI and provides a bulk download file.  

AfDB came top in the Impact Management component with a score of 28 out of 30. AfDB was the only sovereign DFI to score 100% for both activity indicators/metrics and results indicators. It also scored for all organisation-level indicators. 

AfDB came second in the ESG and Accountability to Communities component with 19.67 out of 30. It scored for all organisation-level indicators apart from project-level grievance mechanism (PGM) community disclosure policy. It was one of only three sovereign DFIs to score for the independent accountability mechanism (IAM) community disclosure policy. However, it was one of two not to have a free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) policy. AfDB scored the highest for project-level indicators. It was the only sovereign DFIs to score 100% for the E&S project plans/assessments indicator. It also scored nearly all points for assurance of E&S community disclosure. However, it failed to score for assurance of community disclosure for the IAM and PGM. 

AfDB came third in the Financial Information component, with a score of 3.25 out of 10. Significantly, it scored for all indicators in this component. However, it did not score higher because project-level indicators only scored for the least accessible format of publication. 

Core Information 22.06 / 30
Impact Management 28 / 30
ESG & Accountability to Communities 19.67 / 30
Financial Information 3.25 / 10

Recommendations

  • AfDB should include more data points to its bulk download file that it already publishes elsewhere, including total investment cost, disbursement, and E&S risk category. 
  • AfDB should disclose other Core Information indicators including client contact and date of activity disclosure.  
  • It should disclose loan agreements/contracts for its investments. 
  • AfDB should indicate which impact standards/initiatives it is aligned to. 
  • AfDB should provide assurance of community disclosure about its IAM and PGMs for investments when it is required, including when, where, how, what documentation and the language it was done in. 
  • It should create a policy guiding the disclosure of the presence of the PGM at community level. 
  • AfDB should adopt an FPIC policy and a translation policy. 
Core Information 22.06 / 30
Impact Management 28 / 30
ESG & Accountability to Communities 19.67 / 30
Financial Information 3.25 / 10

Deep Dive

Core Information

22.06 / 30
2 / 9
About component

The basic information that describes a DFI’s organisational policies and investments. This type of information is typically found in key organisation documents and represents the first tier of project information, typically disclosed on project web pages or in files available for bulk download. At the organisation level this includes access to information policies and annual reports. At the project level, this includes project titles, locations, and key dates.

Disclosure / access to information policy

Score: 2.25 out of 3

Accessibility

Score: 2 out of 2

Annual reports

Score: 1 out of 1

Project identification

Score: 1.5 out of 1.5

Status

Score: 1.5 out of 1.5

Project description

Score: 1.5 out of 1.5

Location

Score: 1.5 out of 1.5

Sovereign / non-sovereign

Score: 1.5 out of 1.5

Sector

Score: 1.5 out of 1.5

Investment instrument

Score: 1.5 out of 1.5

Project costs

Score: 0.88 out of 1.5

Funding source

Score: 1.5 out of 1.5

Client

Score: 1.5 out of 1.5

Contacts

Score: 0.75 out of 1.5

E&S risk category

Score: 0.75 out of 1.5

Progress dates

Score: 0.94 out of 1.5

Contract (sovereign only)

Score: 0 out of 4.5

Impact Management

28 / 30
1 / 9
About component

The ways in which a DFI predicts, measures, and evaluates the impacts of their investments. At the organisation level, this includes an impact measurement approach. At the project level, this includes activity indicators/metrics and results.

Impact measurement approach

Score: 4 out of 6

Sector / country strategy

Score: 4 out of 4

Evaluations

Score: 4 out of 4

Activity indicators / metrics

Score: 8 out of 8

Results

Score: 8 out of 8

ESG & Accountability to Communities

19.67 / 30
2 / 9
About component

The ways in which a DFI predicts, mitigates, and communicates the ESG aspects of their activities. At the organisation level this includes E&S global disclosure policy and E&S community disclosure policy. At the project level this includes E&S plans and assessments, and assurance of community disclosure.

E&S global disclosure policy

Score: 4.17 out of 5

E&S community disclosure policy

Score: 3 out of 4

IAM global disclosure documentation

Score: 2 out of 2

IAM community disclosure policy

Score: 2 out of 2

PGM community disclosure policy

Score: 0 out of 2

Summary of E&S risks

Score: 1 out of 2

E&S project plans / assessments

Score: 4 out of 4

Assurance of E&S community disclosure

Score: 2.5 out of 3

IAM global disclosure

Score: 1 out of 1

Assurance of IAM community disclosure

Score: 0 out of 2.5

Assurance of PGM community disclosure

Score: 0 out of 2.5

Financial Information

3.25 / 10
3 / 9
About component

This information provides details on the financial performance of DFIs and the structuring of investments. At the organisation level, this includes audited financial reports. At the project level, this includes currency of investment, mobilisation, and concessionality

Financial reports / statements

Score: 1 out of 1

Currency of investment

Score: 0.5 out of 2

Co-financing

Score: 1 out of 4

Instrument-specific disclosure

Score: 0.75 out of 3