The African Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) Performance Survey 2025 presents the results of a survey covering 37 African DFIs, assessing their financial performance, operational effectiveness, institutional characteristics, and development impact during fiscal year 2024. The report provides empirical evidence on how African DFIs balance financial sustainability with their development mandates, highlighting trends in governance, lending models, sectoral priorities, climate finance, gender inclusion, financial performance, and institutional capacity. It also identifies key challenges related to capitalization, risk management, and operational effectiveness, offering policy recommendations to strengthen the resilience and development impact of African DFIs.
This executive summary synthesizes findings from the fourth edition of the AADFI African DFIs Performance Survey, based on responses from 37 development finance institutions across Africa. Using quantitative and qualitative data, the survey benchmarks DFIs’ ownership structures, financing instruments, sectoral allocations, sustainability practices, governance, financial performance, and development outcomes. Results show strong commitments to climate and environmental objectives, broad adoption of sustainability practices, and significant contributions to employment and inclusive growth despite persistent challenges in profitability, non-performing loans, capitalization, and institutional capacity. The report emphasizes the importance of government support, concessional finance, blended finance, stronger governance, enhanced risk management, and improved regulatory frameworks to strengthen the long-term sustainability of African DFIs. It serves as a valuable benchmarking tool for policymakers, development finance institutions, regulators, and development partners seeking to improve the effectiveness and impact of development finance across Africa.
