Norway has strengthened its financial backing for Africa’s poorest nations with a NOK 3.1 billion (about KSh 45 billion) pledge to the African Development Fund’s seventeenth replenishment, signalling sustained commitment to development needs amid mounting global uncertainty.
The announcement was first made at the Global Citizen Now forum in Johannesburg and reaffirmed in talks between Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and African Development Bank Group president Dr Sidi Ould Tah.
The package includes NOK 2.38 billion (roughly KSh 34.5 billion) in core support to the Fund, representing almost a six percent rise from the last cycle, along with NOK 150 million (around KSh 2.2 billion) channelled to the Climate Action Window.
Norway has positioned itself as a reliable supporter, having contributed to every replenishment round since joining in 1973. Its commitment to basic service delivery has drawn praise at a time when African states face harsher debt conditions, food shortages and climate pressures.
Dr Ould Tah described the pledge as “timely and consequential,” saying it would expand the Fund’s impact on vulnerable economies and emphasised shared priorities in youth employment and sustainable growth.
Oslo frames its contribution as part of its 2024 Africa engagement strategy, which seeks to advance peace and equity. Støre said the funding would improve access to food, electricity, clean water, education and healthcare for “some of the world’s poorest people.”
Norway also highlighted the Fund’s role in Mission 300, an initiative aiming to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.
The African Development Fund is the concessional arm of the African Development Bank, serving 37 low-income states with grants, cheap loans and guarantee support across sectors from agriculture and transport to governance.
Donor governments are due to finalise their pledges in London in mid-December, where others will be expected to follow Norway’s lead amid rising development challenges.
