IFRS Foundation and African Development Bank to join forces to promote sustainability-related financial disclosures

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the IFRS Foundation will seek to work closely on advancing sustainability-related disclosure practices in Africa.

The two organisations signed a letter of intent on the sidelines of the Bank Group’s Annual Meetings, which are taking place in Nairobi.  

They plan to engage with African financial institutions, regulators and policymakers to provide capacity building and technical assistance. The aim is to develop the knowledge and capabilities for effective sustainability disclosure, in compliance with ISSB Standards, to support investor decision-making.

The Bank Group’s African Financial Alliance on Climate Change (AFAC) and the IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) will lead on the partnership.

AFAC is a voluntary platform that brings together diverse stakeholders within the African financial sector—regulators, policymakers, and civil society—to collectively tackle climate change and encourage sustainable finance.

African Development Bank President Dr Akinwumi Adesina said:

 We are committed to supporting markets across Africa to advance sustainability disclosure practices. Through our partnership with the IFRS Foundation we will deliver capacity building and assistance that will lead to enhanced transparency, accountability and efficiency, with a goal of mobilising capital flows across Africa.

IFRS Foundation Trustees Chair Erkki Liikanen said:

We thank the African Development Bank for their important partnership as we prioritise helping companies and jurisdictions develop the skills and capabilities to adopt the ISSB Standards.

ISSB Chair Emmanuel Faber said:

 We have heard from African companies of the perceived benefits in using the ISSB Standards to communicate about transition and physical risks to secure competitive advantage and attract investment. Through our partnership with the African Development Bank we will be better placed to unlock the benefits of sustainability reporting for African companies and economies.

There is strong support for the introduction of ISSB Standards with jurisdictions from around the world, including Nigeria and Kenya, having signalled their intent to adopt or otherwise use them.

Furthermore, the partners will collaborate to inform the development of training materials that are suitable for use in the African context.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Nigeria, and Chair, African Caucus, Hon. Wale Edun said:

We support the partnership of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in furthering the global baseline of sustainability disclosures to meet the needs of African capital markets, which will enhance transparency, accountability, efficiency and comparability. Early adoption by African jurisdictions and companies has the potential to attract more investment and to boost private sector development in Africa. We urge the ISSB and AfDB to provide strong advisory and capacity building support to unlock capital flows in tandem with widespread adoption of the ISSB standards in Africa, led by Nigeria which was the first country to launch and adopt IFRS S1 and IFRS S2.

The letter of intent is valid for an initial term of three years. The AfDB and IFRS Foundation are committed to providing resources to support the outlined activities.