Africa’s marginalization in global financial architecture was once again laid bare as the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, criticized the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for what he described as a glaringly unfair allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).
Speaking in Abuja on Sunday, Adesina revealed that Africa, home to over 1.4 billion people and some of the world’s most vulnerable economies, received only $33 billion of the $650 billion SDRs issued by the IMF in 2021.
That figure represents just 4.5 percent of the total allocation, a disbursement that Adesina argued failed to align with the continent’s urgent financial needs, especially as African countries continue to struggle with the economic aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“Out of the $650 billion in SDRs issued globally, Africa received only $33 billion, just 4.5 percent,” Adesina said. “This is despite being the continent most in need and with the least resources to manage the economic fallout.”
A Broken System at the Heart of a Global Crisis
The SDR system, which was designed to supplement countries’ official reserves and improve global liquidity, effectively entrenched existing global inequalities. Allocations were based on IMF quotas, which heavily favored advanced economies. For Africa, the fallout has been severe. While the continent endured some of the deepest economic scarring from the pandemic, with many countries experiencing negative growth, inflationary pressures, rising debt burdens, and dwindling foreign reserves, they lacked the fiscal space to implement robust recovery plans.
African countries were left scrambling for loans with steep conditionalities, while wealthier nations parked unused SDRs in their reserves. By comparison, the United States received around $113 billion, far surpassing what was shared among all 54 African countries combined.
Adesina noted that this structural imbalance in global financing mechanisms, exposed sharply during COVID, calls for urgent reforms.
But rather than wait for the global financial order to fix itself, Adesina said Africa is already engineering a workaround. The AfDB, in partnership with the African Union, has developed a new framework with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to rechannel unused SDRs from wealthier countries to multilateral development banks, where they can be more effectively deployed.
According to him, the IMF Board has already approved this innovative financing model.
“This is a game-changer,” he said. “Each dollar of SDR rechanneled can be leveraged four to eight times. That means a $50 billion reallocation could unlock up to $200 billion in new development financing—at no cost to taxpayers.”
If implemented at scale, the plan could become a lifeline for African economies currently facing a precarious mix of debt distress, capital flight, and currency devaluation. It could also provide funding for climate resilience projects, healthcare systems, and infrastructure upgrades that are often postponed due to a lack of concessional financing.
Raising $27 Billion for the Poorest Countries
Adesina also announced that the AfDB’s concessional arm, the African Development Fund (ADF), is currently raising an additional $27 billion from global capital markets. These funds, he said, will be channeled to 37 of the continent’s poorest countries—countries that rely on concessional loans to meet basic developmental goals.
This new funding drive comes amid the ADF’s 17th replenishment cycle. The AfDB president appealed to global donors not just to pledge more, but to demonstrate long-term commitment to African development.
“The world must realize that investing in Africa’s stability and prosperity is not charity—it is economic common sense,” Adesina said.
The announcement underscores a growing wave of African-led financial initiatives aimed at reducing dependency on Western donors. The AfDB has been particularly vocal in calling for reforms to the global financial system, including adjustments to the IMF quota system, debt restructuring for overburdened African nations, and greater representation in global financial decision-making bodies.
Adesina reiterated that Africa’s financial independence is achievable if international partners support innovative funding mechanisms and allow African institutions to lead implementation.
“With greater investment in health, innovation, and financing, Africa can protect its people, unlock its potential, and chart its own path to prosperity,” he said.
