ICEX Spain Trade and Investment and the African Development Bank have signed a cooperation agreement to consolidate engagement of Spain’s private sector for urban development in Africa.

The agreement will more specifically foster cooperation between the Spanish business entity and the Urban and Municipal Development Fund (UMDF), a multi-donor trust fund hosted by the African Development Bank.

As part of the agreement, the Spanish public agency will mobilize Spanish expertise for African Cities, including cross participation in events, data and knowledge sharing.

The agreement was concluded on the margins of the “Jornadas Multilaterales”, an event promoting dialogue between Spanish entrepreneurs and Ivorian economic actors organized by ICEX in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. During the event, questions related to sustainable urban development were the theme of a panel discussion.

Stefan Atchia, Manager of the Bank’s Urban Development Division, who signed on behalf of the institution expressed his excitement and appreciated the ICEX for the partnership.

“The Bank is very pleased with the Spanish-African partnership, especially its collaboration between ICEX and the UMDF, supporting project development of urban Infrastructure and Planning.”
Stefan Atchia

María Peña Mateos, CEO of ICEX, pledged her full support for the agreement, while expressing her readiness to share the rich experience of Spain with the AfDB counterpart for the benefit of the continent.

“Spain has large experience with innovation and technology for urban services, which we want to make available for African cities. Moreover, the memorandum has agreed to facilitate the African Development Bank’s participation in the Smart Cities Expo World Congress, to be held in Barcelona in November, to learn more about the objectives and technologies related to urban development, inclusiveness and sustainability.”
María Peña Mateos

Foundation for a Long-Standing Alignment of Interest Between the Two Parties

The signed partnership document would form the foundation for a long-standing alignment of interests between the two parties, according to its terms.

The Urban and Municipal Development Fund promotes sustainable, resilient and inclusive urban planning in the Bank’s member countries. The Fund facilitates infrastructure project financing and implementation across Africa. It emphasizes the crucial role of private sector expertise and financing to fill the important services and urban infrastructures gap in African cities.

ICEX is engaged in fostering Spanish companies’ participation in projects promoting sustainable development. The agency acts as a prescriber and public body of reference in the field of sustainable internationalization, under the conviction that internationalization can and should be part of the solution to the major global development challenge, driving innovation as a catalyst for more inclusive and sustainable products and processes.

The Bank launched the Urban and Municipal Development Fund (UMDF) in 2019 to support the Banks engagement in and with cities. The Fund is responding to continuously growing demand from countries and cities to the Bank for supporting urban development.

The UMDF provides financial and technical assistance to national and local governments for improving governance, planning, and to prepare investments in sustainable urban development for more climate resilient, resilient, liveable and productive cities, underpinning national socio-economic development and poverty reduction.

The UMDF supports investment-oriented action planning to develop or update integrated urban and sector plans. The goal is to develop medium- to long-term approaches for more inclusive, climate resilient, liveable and productive African cities.

UMDF also supports Government (national and local) requested infrastructure and service delivery investments that directly and measurably lead to inclusive, sustainable urban development, providing financial and technical assistance for urban project identification, preparation, financial structuring and implementation.

The UMDF, moreover, supports cities to address the climate challenge, by helping to identify opportunities for adaptation and resilience building, and support Bank efforts to bring adaptation investments to bankability.