Africa’s $100 billion infrastructure gap: why Africa must seize the moment on the New Development Bank

The author contends that Africa should actively influence the New Development Bank (NDB) during its early implementation to overcome the slow pace of traditional multilateral development bank financing. The NDB is highlighted for its agility, equal voting rights among founding members, and potential to lend in domestic currencies to mitigate exchange-rate risks. The paper emphasizes the role of the NDB's Africa Regional Centre in South Africa to address the shortage of bankable projects and suggests integrating poverty alleviation and women's empowerment indicators into project preparation.

• The New Development Bank (NDB) has demonstrated greater agility and efficiency than traditional multilateral development banks, extending nearly $1 billion in loans to four members within six months of operation, whereas some established banks have turn-around times exceeding 18 months from application to award.
• The NDB employs a governance structure where capital and voting rights are shared equally among the five founding members, avoiding the disproportionate influence of wealthy states seen in traditional banks. While the BRICS countries will maintain a 55% shareholding, the bank intends to expand membership to other UN members, including emerging markets and developed countries.
• The NDB is introducing norms to reduce financial risk and bureaucracy, including lending in domestic currencies to help countries avoid the sovereign debt crises associated with US dollar borrowing, and relying on existing country systems rather than imposing new bureaucratic processes.
• The NDB's Africa Regional Centre in South Africa is positioned to address the critical shortage of bankable projects in Africa. The author suggests that project preparation should expand beyond mere bankability to include metrics for women's empowerment and poverty alleviation.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2016). Africa’s $100 billion infrastructure gap: why Africa must seize the moment on the New Development Bank. https://saiia.org.za/research/africas-100-billion-infrastructure-gap-why-africa-must-seize-the-moment-on-the-new-development-bank/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Africa’s $100 billion infrastructure gap: why Africa must seize the moment on the New Development Bank. 2016. https://saiia.org.za/research/africas-100-billion-infrastructure-gap-why-africa-must-seize-the-moment-on-the-new-development-bank/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Africa’s $100 billion infrastructure gap: why Africa must seize the moment on the New Development Bank |date=20 July 2016 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/africas-100-billion-infrastructure-gap-why-africa-must-seize-the-moment-on-the-new-development-bank/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2016africas, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Africa’s \$100 billion infrastructure gap: why Africa must seize the moment on the New Development Bank}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2016}, month = jul, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/africas-100-billion-infrastructure-gap-why-africa-must-seize-the-moment-on-the-new-development-bank/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }