In May 2025, the African Development Bank (AfDB) hosted its CSO Forum and Annual Meetings in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. These two events were presented as key opportunities for civil society to engage with the Bank. However, the events were not well designed to maximize civil society participation and failed to live up to this promise. We hope to see the AfDB continue to improve its civil society focused events to create spaces for meaningful and productive dialogue.
Civil Society Forum
Unlike other development banks (e.g., the World Bank, Asian Development Bank), the AfDB hosted its Civil Society Forum as a separate event rather than integrating it into the AfDB Annual Meetings leading to reduced attendance at both events as many CSOs only had the resources to attend one..
During the CSO forum, the Bank launched the CSO Engagement Action Plan 2024-2028, to mark its commitment to an inclusive and participatory development process. We welcome the objectives of the Action Plan and note that the key challenge ahead lies in implementing this plan effectively. CSOs should be included in the monitoring and evaluation of the action plan, and it should be evaluated by the Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) at the end of the four year time frame. Another highlight of the CSO forum was the town hall session with AfDB Management from different departments including the Independent Recourse Mechanism, Integrated Safeguard Systems, Agriculture, Water, Environment and Climate, which gave CSOs the opportunity to share questions and concerns with different AfDB departments.
Annual Meetings
From May 26-30, the AfDB hosted its Annual meetings, under the theme: "Making Africa's Capital Work Better for Africa's Development." A highlight of the meetings was the election of the AfDB’s ninth President, Dr. Sidi Ould Tah from Mauritania. Dr. Tah will assume office on 1 September 2025, for a five-year term.
On the sidelines of the Annual Meetings, the AfDB CSO department held a CSO session where outgoing President Adesina emphasized the importance of civil society. Despite this acknowledgement, the session focused on presenting information about the collaboration between the Bank and its implementing partners, and did not leave space for constructive dialogue on issues of concern to critical civil society. Further, while the program included a meeting between the AfDB Board of Directors and civil society, the meeting was not open to all civil society participants.
In contrast, CSO-led sessions such as those organized by the CSO Coalition for Climate Change and Energy and Power Shift Africa provided space for dialogue between civil society and the Bank on CSOs’ role in Mission 300 and the just energy transition. The session's goal was to show to both the AfDB and the private sector the benefits of including civil society in implementing Mission 300, and the risks of excluding them. The Bank and private sector participants acknowledged that Mission 300’s success depends on putting people at the center of development. In response, civil society called on the Bank and private sector actors to move away from Public Private Partnerships and toward greater reliance on Public Private Community Partnerships if Mission 300 is to reach the last mile of the African population.
What CSOs hope to see at future AfDB Annual Meetings
Engagement between CSOs and the Bank is essential, and it should be meaningful and inclusive. As such, for future AfDB Annual Meetings, the Bank should:
- Reinstate a substantive, interactive CSO forum at the Annual Meetings based on practices set by peer institutions including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
- Plan and organize the CSO forum in partnership with civil society organizations. Selection among proposals for CSO-led sessions should extend beyond Bank-funded CSOs to embrace other groups offering critical and independent perspectives on the AfDB's work. Sessions should foster meaningful dialogue and critical discussions on challenges and opportunities facing the AfDB, with active participation from Bank staff.
- Maintain a regular CSO town hall meeting with AfDB’s President, and emphasize two way communication and the opportunity for CSOs to ask questions, raise concerns, and make suggestions and recommendations to the President.
- Open CSO roundtable discussions with AfDB Executive Directors to all registered civil society participants at the Annual Meetings. Allocating dedicated time for CSOs to engage with the AfDB's Executive Directors as key decision makers and representatives of the member governments, of which CSOs are constituents, is paramount. This interaction should aim to highlight community concerns, provide space for information sharing and dialogue on Bank priorities and plans, and explore avenues for collaboration.