African Development Bank Group joins world’s leading export credit and insurance community as full member

A team from the African Development Bank participated in the 2026 Berne Union Spring Meeting, a landmark forum hosted by Kazakh Export, marking the Bank Group as the first multilateral development institution to join the Berne Union as a full member, with complete participation rights.

The Berne Union is the world’s foremost association for the export credit and investment insurance industry, founded in 1934.

The meeting, held from May 11–14 in Astana, Kazakhstan saw the participation of over 240 delegates from over 70 countries, including leaders of export credit agencies, international financial institutions and global insurance companies.

Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov opened the meetings in a speech which underscored the growing importance of trade connectivity and cross-border investment in an interconnected world. Berne Union President Yuichiro Akita, highlighted the rising global focus on energy security and critical minerals, noting that geopolitical instability is simultaneously creating risk and opportunity for investors.

The Bank Group was represented by Nana Spio-Garbrah, Division Manager in the Structured Finance and Client Solutions Division, and Financial Analyst Caleb N’Doua, in their first active engagement in the Berne Union’s Medium and Long-Term Committee during a technical-level forum.

MDBs, ECA discuss unlocking more capital through partnership

A highlight of the conference was the MDB–ECA Cooperation breakout session, co-led by Spio-Garbrah and Isabel Galdiz of US EXIM Bank.

The discussion brought together development finance and risk professionals to explore how stronger collaboration between Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) can help mobilize private capital at scale. The session converged on a clear message that no institution can achieve the Sustainable Development Goals on its own balance sheet.

Key recommendations included establishing systematic pipeline-sharing arrangements, revitalizing the Berne Union MDB–ECA cooperation toolkit, and jointly engaging the OECD and rating agencies on the recognition of MDB preferred-creditor status and subrogation.

Nana Spio-Garbrah, AfDB, with Isabel Galdiz, US EXIM Bank

The forum’s theme this year – Crossroads – was chosen to reflect the convergence of global trade routes, investment decisions, and policy dialogue at a moment of geopolitical fragmentation and supply-chain reconfiguration.

Africa stands at a crossroads. The continent holds extraordinary assets of critical minerals essential to the global energy transition, fast-growing consumer markets, emerging logistics corridors, and a young and dynamic workforce. Its infrastructure project pipeline runs into tens of billions of dollars. Yet Africa remains systematically underinsured and underfinanced relative to its actual risk profile.

Data from the Global Emerging Markets Risk Database (GEMs), consistently show that Africa records the best sovereign debt recovery rates in the world. Changing that narrative is a prerequisite for the private capital flows the continent urgently needs. This objective sits at the core of the Bank’s implementation of the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD) and President Ould Tah’s Four Cardinal Points.

Delivering on this vision will require deeper partnerships with private investors, insurers, export credit agencies, and other market participants capable of helping channel capital where it is needed most.

The African Development Bank’s admission to the Berne Union is not merely a recognition of institutional standing. It is an operational platform one the Bank intends to use actively to advance Africa’s development financing agenda within the world’s most influential risk-sharing community. As an Observer Member with full participation rights, the Bank now has a formal presence in the MLT Committee, access to peer intelligence across 89 member institutions.

With over $20 billion in projects across energy, transport, agriculture, digital infrastructure, and financial sector development set for 2026, the stakes are high and the timeline is urgent. The Berne Union membership gives the Bank the institutional platform, the relationships, and the credibility to meet that moment.