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The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development’s (ADFD) cumulative spending surpassed AED 216 bn in 2023,according to its latest annual report (pdf). Spending was geared toward ramping up social development initiatives globally, and supporting economic growth here at home.
The breakdown: The fund spent some AED 120.5 bn on development financing for 106 countries, with the lion’s share — AED 66 bn — provided in the form of concessionary loans and AED 54.5 bn provided as government grants. This includes backing Masdar’s AED 184 mn solar energy station project in Azerbaijan and Talc’s agricultural projects in Somalia worth AED 40 mn. The fund also allocated AED 177 mn for Terminals Holding Group’s rehabilitation of Kabul Airport in Afghanistan in 2023.
In 2023, the fund handed out AED 220 mn in concessional loans to fund a project in Tanzania to build a power line that would link the Kagera administrative region with the national electricity grid, and a project to build a water pipeline in Mauritania. It also handed out AED 270.7 mn in development grants for infrastructure projects in Asia and Africa, and
Creating new windows for investment: The fund’s cumulative investments amount to AED 12.6 bn, divided across seven investment tools and 16 companies in various sectors across 26 countries. Some AED 78 bn was deposited with central banks in developing nations, and AED 5.3 bn was allocated to bolster investment activities in beneficiary countries.
Favorite sectors + countries: The fund directs 24% of its funds towards tourism initiatives, 23% to industrials, and 22% towards investment holding. Morocco has received the biggest amount of investments, accounting for 22% of the fund’s total investments, followed closely by Uzbekistan (20%) and Egypt (12%).
Driving domestic growth: ADFD invested AED 3.2 bn between 2020 and 2023 to support national exports via the Abu Dhabi Exports Office. The funds were aimed at facilitating Emirati companies’ global expansion and boosting the national economy’s business competitiveness.
