The West African Development Bank - WADB (fr. Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement - BOAD / pt. Banco de Desenvolvimento do Oeste Africano - BDOA) was established in 1973 to serve the nations of

Francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

and

Lusophone The Portuguese-speaking world, also known as the Lusophone world () or the Lusophony (''Lusofonia''), comprises the countries and territories in which the Portuguese language is an official, administrative, cultural, or secondary language. This ...

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. The BOAD is organised by the

Central Bank of West African States The Central Bank of West African States (, BCEAO) is a central bank serving the eight west African countries which share the common West African CFA franc currency and comprise the West African Economic and Monetary Union. The BCEAO is active ...

and its eight member governments:

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

, Guinea Bissau,

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

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

and

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

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

Lomé Lomé ( , ) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Togo, largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

Creation

The BOAD was created on 14 November 1973 by member states of the West African Monetary Union (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, also known as BAD in French) is a multilateral development finance institution, headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and ...

, the

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the 27 member states. It is the largest multilateral financial institution in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt sol ...

, the Export and Import Bank of India (Exim Bank), and the

People's Bank of China The People's Bank of China (officially PBC and unofficially PBOC) is the central bank of the People's Republic of China. It is responsible for carrying out monetary policy as determined by the ''PRC People's Bank Law'' and the ''PRC Commercia ...

. The president of the bank's board is chosen by the heads of state of UEMOA, and since January 2008, Abdoulaye Bio-Tchane. 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
.

Gallery

ASC Leiden - F. van der Kraaij Collection - 09 - 063 - Le bâtiment principal moderniste de la Banque Ouest-Africaine de Développement - Lomé, Togo - 1981.tif, BOAD, Lomé, Togo, 1981 ASC Leiden - F. van der Kraaij Collection - 09 - 064 - Le siège moderne de la Banque Ouest-Africaine de Développement (BOAD) - Lomé, Togo - 1981.tif, BOAD, Lomé, Togo, 1981

References

External links

*
FAO Sourcebook: The West African Development Bank (WADB)
{{Authority control International organizations based in Africa International development in Africa Multilateral development banks Supranational banks