In 2024, EIB Global - the development arm of the European Investment Bank EIB - signed 7.9bn across 102 projects outside the EU, with 60 targeting climate action and environmental sustainability and 6.7bn supporting the EU's Global Gateway initiative, as detailed in the EIB Global Impact Report 2024/2025.
In Africa, EIB Global confronts critical barriers, notably debt sustainability concerns and governance issues that severely limit public sectors' ability to fund infrastructure and development projects. With public investment constrained by high debt, volatile commodity prices and climate vulnerabilities, the private sector emerges as a vital engine for growth and EIB Global is at the forefront of unlocking its potential.
The private sector, with its agility and innovation, is uniquely positioned to fill this gap, but it requires support to scale effectively. EIB Global's strategic role is to deliver EU priorities, namely climate resilience, gender equality 28 of projects and alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, while fostering economic stability through innovative financing solutions. The EIB Global Impact Report highlights tangible outcomes from 2024: 1.8m people gained access to safe drinking water, 7.1m households were supplied with clean electricity, 800,000 jobs were sustained in small and medium enterprises SMEs and 600,000 benefited from improved health services.