KfW further increased its commitments for developing countries and emerging economies on behalf of the German Federal Government in 2018: to EUR 10.6 billion (2017: EUR 9.8 billion) for 469 projects. KfW Development Bank and DEG thus once again exceeded the record set the previous year.
Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East accounted for almost half of total funding with EUR 4.6 billion (previous year: EUR 3.1 billion). This is also due to the fact that the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is particularly engaged in promoting Africa and supporting the continent with significant funds within the scope of various initiatives.
“In its cooperation with Africa, the German Federal Government is focusing more on what is known as the ‘reform champions’ who practice advanced good governance. We see this as our mission to further strengthen our commitment in these countries, thereby promoting stable development and partnerships. In general, we want our funding to contribute to further developing Africa’s immense economic potential, thereby alleviating poverty,” said Dr. Joachim Nagel, Member of KfW Group’s Executive Board.
KfW Development Bank further increased its commitments with around EUR 8.7 billion (2017: EUR 8.2 billion), setting a new record high.
Nearly 60% of this amount was used for climate action and environmental protection. 5.1 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent a year will be saved in the partner countries thanks to the 2018 commitments.
In addition, KfW stepped up its cooperation with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and signed a second financing agreement with the GCF for EUR 102.7 million.
In 2018, KfW also founded the Clean Oceans Initiative (COI) together with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Agence Française de Développment (AfD) to combat the growing volume of plastic waste polluting the oceans. The three partner banks will invest a total of EUR 2 billion over the next five years in marine protection, waste management and sewage treatment projects. In 2018 a total of EUR 148 million was committed for three projects in Indonesia, Costa Rica and South Africa.
KfW Development Bank currently oversees 126 ongoing projects directly related to refugees in 28 different countries with an overall volume of EUR 4.1 billion. A total of EUR 1.1 billion in new commitments were allocated for projects in this area in 2018.
Original source: KfW
Published on 09 May 2019
