AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK(ADB)

French Banque Africaine De Dveloppement African organization established in August 1963 and operational beginning in July 1966 and dedicated to economic development. The Secretariat of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, together with a nine-member committee of experts from member states, engineered the original agreement of establishment, but the bank is not formally associated with the United Nations. Its membership includes 50 African states and 25 non-African countries. The headquarters are in Abidjan, Cte d'Ivoire. The bank aims to spur both economic development and social progress among its members on an individual and a joint basis. It has six associated institutions through which public and private capital is channeled: the African Development Fund, the Nigeria Trust Fund, the Africa Reinsurance Corporation (Africare), the Socit Internationale Financire pour les Investissements et le Dveloppement en Afrique (SIFIDA), the Association of African Development Finance Institutions (AADFI), and Shelter-Afrique.