The first roundtable of donors dedicated to the Blue Fund for the Congo Basin was a major success. Meeting in the Congolese capital on the sidelines of the AfDB Annual Meetings, international partners announced financial commitments and guarantees amounting to nearly $3.554 billion .

These funds will be used to finance an initial program of 70 priority projects focused on sustainable development and climate resilience.

🌍 Details of contributions

The financial mobilization brought together leading institutions, in the form of direct grants and guarantees:

Financial institution	Contribution / Role
World Bank	$1 billion
BDEAC	$600 million (over 3 years)
African Solidarity Fund	$500 million
Green Climate Fund	$320 million
African Development Bank & African Chamber of Commerce in Scandinavia	$350 million (over 3 years)
East African Development Bank & BADEA	Financial guarantees

🎯 Focus on making it a reality before the end of 2026

The summit was led by Congolese President Denis Sassou N'Guesso , the project's initiator, surrounded by his Central African counterpart, Faustin-Archange Touadéra , and Gabonese counterpart, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema .

Welcoming what he calls "a further step" towards the realization of the Fund, the Congolese head of state expressed his ambition to move quickly to action:

"Our wish is clear and precise: the first real funding for the projects must be secured before the end of 2026."

Rigorous management and key sectors

The Development Bank of Central African States (BDEAC), the official host of the Fund since 2021, through its president Dieudonné Evou Mekou, has pledged to guarantee complete transparency in the management of these funds. The funds will exclusively target priorities validated by the member states.

1. Forest preservation and sustainable water management.
2. Energy transition and agricultural development.
3. Climate resilience of local populations.

🟢 A global challenge

The Vice-President of the African Union Commission, Selma Malika Haddadi, emphasized the crucial importance of this initiative for the planet. The Congo Basin remains, to this day, the world's second largest ecological lung after the Amazon.

Thanks to this historic round table, the Blue Fund is definitively moving beyond the phase of theoretical promises to fully enter the phase of concrete investments on the ground.