West African Development Bank (Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement or BOAD) Development and Implementation of a Social and Environmental Management System

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has provided a second line of credit of EUR 64m to the West African Development Bank (Banque Ouest Africaine de Developpement or BOAD) and participates in the projected capital increase with a total of EUR 3.05m. The project will strengthen BOAD in its role as the Bank’s strategic partner for private sector financing in West Africa; provide access to medium- and long-term resources identified by BOAD in its strategic plan as a constraint to implementing its development mission; and ensure better matching of resources with expenditures. By providing resources through this second line of credit, the project will assist in financing 25 infrastructure projects in the agricultural, industrial, energy, mining, transport and communication sectors in West Africa. The second line of credit has been fully disbursed by AfDB as of December 2014.

The EU-AITF grant will be used to develop and implement a comprehensive Social and Environmental Management System (SEMS), which would facilitate BOAD’s ability to more effectively identify, assess, address, monitor, and adapt to environmental and social (E&S) risks and impacts in the projects it seeks to finance through the AfDB's second line of credit and through the resources of other development partners. A SEMS would ensure that BOAD has established the requisite policies, procedures, institutional structures, reporting mechanisms, monitoring tools, staff capacities, etc. The SEMS would be specifically tailored to enhance BOAD’s institutional strengths through the inclusion of international and regional best practices and approaches in the E&S domain. The SEMS will also strengthen the technical expertise of BOAD staff members, facilitating the transfer of knowledge on E&S matters within BOAD as well as to other agencies and institutions which BOAD collaborates with across West Africa.