The UMDF annual report 2023

This report covers the UMDF’s activities for the year 2023, a year of growth with increasing commitment and cities benefiting from the financial and technical support of the Fund, thanks to the generosity of the UMDF donors.

This report (click here to open the PDF) will give you a specific focus of the key progress and achievements for the UMDF three principal windows of the year 2023:

The African Cities Program is the AfDB’s flagship urban program through which the Bank engages early and comprehensively with cities, bringing long term mentorship support for improved urban planning, governance & investment projects identification. In 2023, 4 new cities have been integrated into the program: Beira (Mozambique), Bujumbura (Burundi), Kribi (Cameroon), Sekondi-Takoradi (Ghana). Their action plans will be built along 2024, using the new African Cities Program Methodology to assure a systematic approach.

The UMDF Project Preparation Window provides financial or technical assistance for the preparation and appraisal of urban infrastructure projects. The year 2023 was marked by the approval of 6 new projects by the oversight committee, with a total funding of 3,735,000 million dollars:

- Restructuring of the Public Transport Network in Dakar, Senegal

- Electrification of informal settlement in Windhoek, Namibia

- Development of a masterplan for the development of a new city in southern Eswatini

- Rehabilitation of water network in Tshwane, South Africa

- Urban transport project in Kigali, Rwanda

- Climate Smart urban development initiative, in Kampala, Uganda

With these new projects, UMDF diversified its portfolio in terms of both geographical areas and sub-sectors.

Through the Municipal Access to Finance Window (MAFW), the fund provides technical assistance to a selected number of cities to enhance municipal finances to improve their ability to invest directly into climate resilient, livable and productive urban development. IN 2023, in partnership with United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Africa, the UMDF organized training sessions for more than 50 Municipal Chief Financial Officers. The AfDB also sponsored this report (download) exploring ways to unlock the potential of Sub-national finance.