The Board of Governors of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development concluded its 24th Annual General Meeting in Accra on 8 April 2026 with a renewed commitment to expand investment across West Africa over the next five years. The move signals an acceleration in the Bank’s efforts to finance transformative projects and strengthen regional economic integration.
The Board, which comprises finance ministers and, in some cases, ministers of planning and development from the region’s fifteen Member States, met against a backdrop of shifting economic and political dynamics. Ministers from Burkina Faso and Niger, representing the Alliance of Sahel States, were also present, underlining a continued collective commitment to the bank’s development mandate.
The meeting was opened by Seth Terkper, presidential adviser and former finance minister of Ghana, on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama. He reaffirmed Ghana’s support for EBID’s role in promoting sustainable growth and economic resilience across the subregion.
Central to the discussions was the endorsement of the Bank’s new five-year strategic plan, known as the Growth, Resilience and Optimisation strategy for 2026 to 2030. The framework is intended to position EBID as a leading financial institution in West Africa, capable of addressing the region’s socio-economic challenges while increasing its operational impact.
Under the strategy, the Bank will prioritise investment in infrastructure, agriculture, energy and digital transformation. Climate resilience and private sector participation are expected to play a central role in shaping these interventions.
Dr George Agyekum Donkor, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, used the occasion to commend the outgoing chairman of the Board of Governors, Ghana’s finance minister Dr Ato Baah Forson, for his leadership and strategic direction. He noted that the progress achieved under Forson’s tenure had strengthened EBID’s position as a key driver of sustainable development in the region.
Dr Donkor also presented the Bank’s financial and operational results for the 2025 fiscal year, describing performance as strong and signalling the institution’s readiness to deliver on both its expanded investment commitments and the ambitions set out in the new strategy.
The Board concluded its deliberations with the unanimous appointment of Ismaël Nabé, Guinea’s minister of planning, development and international cooperation, as the new chairman of the Board of Governors. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment as the Bank seeks to scale up its activities and reinforce its role in driving economic transformation across West Africa.