The West African Development Bank - WADB (fr. Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement - BOAD / pt. Banco de Desenvolvimento do Oeste Africano - BDOA) is an international

Multilateral Development Bank An international financial institution (IFI) is a financial institution that has been established (or chartered) by more than one country, and hence is subject to international law. Its owners or shareholders are generally national governments, al ...

established in 1973 to serve the nations of

Francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the ...

and Lusophone

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mau ...

. The BOAD is organised by the Central Bank of West African States and its eight member governments:

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

, Guinea Bissau,

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesSenegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣� ...

and

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its ...

. It is funded by member states, foreign governments and international agencies. Its headquarters are in

Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

Creation

The BOAD was created 14 November 1973 by member states of the

West African Monetary Union The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...

(WAMU). The original charter focused on development of member economies towards balanced development and to prepare economies for future West African economic integration. In 1994, it became the development arm of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU/UEMOA).

Structure

Since that time several international organisations have become members of the bank, adding funding and sitting on the board. These include The

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a development finance institution, multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African gove ...

, the European Investment Bank, the

Export and Import Bank of India An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ' ...

(Exim Bank), and the People's Bank of China. The president of the bank's board is chosen by the heads of state of UEMOA, and since January 2008,

Abdoulaye Bio-Tchane Abdoulaye is a West African masculine given name and surname. It is equivalent to the Arabic names Abdallah or Abdullah ( ar, عبد الله ''ʿAbdu-llahi''; ''servant of God''), given name of Muhammad's father. People with this name include: Gi ...

. The Bank's day-to-day operations are carried out by the President and the Bank adminmanager, cabinet, directorships of departments based in Lome, and mission offices based in the member nations.

Mission

The BOAD released a revised mission statement in 2001, refocusing their funding on three development goals: poverty reduction, economic integration and promotion of private sector activity. The bank disburses long- and medium-term loans, previously available only to BOAD member governments and public institutions, are since 2002 also offered to private businesses involved in development projects of regional importance as well as lines of credit to finance Micro-credit projects and small to medium private enterprises. The BOAD also funds debt-relief programs to member governments with the agreement that funds are instead diverted to health programmes particularly those dealing with HIV/AIDS, education and infrastructure improvements.

Headquarters

The bank is headquartered in Lome, Togo, in a seven-story modernist building designed by the French architects Durand, Menard, and Thiebault in 1980.Archnet entry
.

References

External links