2013-2017_-_Private_Sector_Development_Strategy

character, which ensures privileged access to, and
support by, regional member states, the Bank serves
as an important forum for interaction among these 54
RMCs and its 24 non-African member countries.
The Bank Group needs a clear definition of its role in
assisting its RMCs if it is to contribute meaningfully
to efforts to achieve broad-based economic growth,
inclusive social development and gradual transition to
green growth through an effective private sector. As
Africa’s leading development institution, the Bank has
a unique business perspective based on the areas of its
comparative advantage and core operational priorities,
as summarized in Figure 1.
Since private sector development has to take place on
a vast scale in Africa, the Bank has to refine its business
model to ensure that its efforts are aligned with market
forces to create conditions that support private initiative.
Likewise, the Bank must systematically assess how
its projects are helping private sector development,
especially in coordination with other development
partners in Africa.
2.3 Operational Principles
The proposed private sector strategy is anchored in the
five underlying operational principles of the 2013 Private
Sector Development Policy 10 :
• Ultimate ownership of the PSD agenda lies with RMCs;
• The Bank is selective in its interventions;
• The Bank demonstrates ‘additionality’ in its intended
interventions;
• The Bank aims to attract other partners in its
interventions; and
• Bank interventions do not compromise its financial
integrity.
The PSD Strategy specifies Management’s intended
directions for the Bank Group on the PSD agenda over
the medium term. The Strategy is guided by the PSD
10 The PSD Policy (ADB/BD/WP/2011/85/Rev.3 and ADF/BD/WP/2011/46/Rev.3)
presents the highest level of mandatory principles proposed by Management on the
Bank Group’s private sector development agenda approved by the Board. The Policy
also helps define the universe of acceptable areas for Bank interventions through
its delineation of unacceptable areas such as speculative activities, commercially
unviable projects and projects deemed illegal under host country rules or international
conventions and agreements, etc. All these guide PSD strategy. However, because staff
may need more specific guidance to be able to comply with the Policy in the specific
areas in which they work, other types of directional statements (e.g., guidelines) may
follow from the Policy, again focusing on key principles and mandatory rules. The
PSD Policy is not expected to change much over time although it can be adjusted
with Board approval.
Policy, but also by the Bank Group Strategy 2013-
2022, evaluations by OPEV, lessons learned from past
strategies, and strategic advice from Senior Management.
It includes strategic pillars and operational priorities
to guide Country Strategy Paper (CSP) and Regional
Integration Strategy Paper (RISP) development teams,
intended results and approaches to attain them, and is
notably informed by Bank Group stakeholder demands.
While strategic directions in it are not expected to change
in the short or medium term, their progress is monitored
and they may be fine-tuned or updated periodically
to adjust to changing conditions. The Strategy also
benefits from business plans and specific directional
guidelines to guide staff in specific areas in which they
work, where necessary.
2.4 Pillars and Priorities
The strategy focuses its resources on the biggest
opportunities for job creation across the continent,
and is built around three pillars of activity (Figure 4):
(i) improving Africa’s investment and business climate;
(ii) expanding access to social and economic
infrastructure; and
(iii) promoting enterprise development.
In deploying interventions across these three pillars,
Management knows Bank financial resources will always
be a small fraction of Africa’s requirements. Given
Africa’s enormous needs, the Bank will seek new ways
to mobilize resources to support Africa’s transformation,
especially by leveraging its own resources. It will continue
to build on and expand the size and the practical
operations across both its windows of support, while
exploring options for attracting new investment from
emerging economies and from new funders and donors,
including sovereign wealth and pension funds. The
Bank Group will also use its existing instruments better,
while developing new ways to ensure that each dollar it
invests unlocks significantly more from other investors.
Wider use of public-private partnerships, co-financing
arrangements and risk-mitigation instruments will also
draw in new investors.
Private Sector Development Strategy, 2013-2017
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