The West African Development Bank (BOAD) has approved CFAF 655.98 billion, about $1.1 billion, in new credit lines from five development partners, together with a CFAF 885.5 million grant. The Board of Directors approved the package at its 152nd session in Lomé on 24 September 2026, according to Financial Afrik.
It is the first large external funding package since the WAMU Council of Ministers approved BOAD’s 2026-2030 strategic plan in March. The lines are approved; their signing, terms and drawdown schedule have not been published.
What the Board approved
The five lines break down as follows (shares are TMG calculations):
Partner Amount (CFAF billion) Share of package Stated purpose French Development Agency (AFD) 196.787 30% Matrix credit line, with a CFAF 885.5 million grant for integrating climate issues into BOAD’s institutional transformation African Development Bank (AfDB), sixth line 131.2 20% SME financing in WAEMU China Development Bank, fourth line 131.2 20% SME financing through partner financial institutions Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), Italy 131.2 20% Agricultural and agro-industrial projects KfW, sixth line 65.595 10% Renewable energy, especially solar and battery storage Total 655.982 100%
Two features stand out. SME finance takes 40% of the package through the AfDB and China Development Bank lines. European lenders (AFD, CDP and KfW) provide 60%.
The Board also approved CFAF 200 billion for a regional emergency programme, “DJIGUIYA 2026-2028”, to secure supplies of agricultural inputs and energy across WAEMU. Financial Afrik lists it among the resource mobilisation mechanisms but separately from the five partner lines.
Measured against the strategic plan
The strategic plan, “Djoliba… La suite”, targets CFAF 6.5 trillion in financing over 2026-2030, nearly double the previous cycle, BOAD said in March. To fund it, the bank plans to mobilise CFAF 2.65 trillion in loans and run a CFAF 1.1 trillion securitisation programme. It also plans to become a group with specialised entities.
On that basis, the September package covers about a quarter of the plan’s borrowing target and about 10% of its total financing target (TMG calculation). It adds to earlier 2026 mobilisations, including a €200 million facility from SMBC approved in March and reciprocal EUR-XOF facilities of up to €600 million signed with the IFC in May.
BOAD enters the cycle from a stronger balance sheet. At end-2025, total assets had risen 38% to CFAF 5,363 billion and net profit reached CFAF 42.476 billion. Moody’s and Fitch confirmed its investment-grade ratings at Baa1 and BBB.
Where the money went the same day
At the same session, the Board approved CFAF 157.5 billion in direct operations, taking cumulative commitments since BOAD began operating to CFAF 10,991.6 billion.
Operation Country Amount (CFAF billion) Agricultural mechanisation and irrigation, phase 3 (target of 100,000 tonnes of rice a year) Togo 45 Petroleum storage extension at COMPEL (170,000 m³) Togo 37 Safim-Jugudul road, first tranche (RN1) Guinea-Bissau 30 Energy asset acquisition by Yattassaye & Company Energy Invest Benin 17.5 AFRIC CEMENTS plant, Kossodo (285,000 tonnes a year) Burkina Faso 10 Refinancing line for COFINA (SMEs, green projects, women entrepreneurs) Côte d’Ivoire 10 Short-term hydrocarbon import loan to SOTRAKA (about 20,000 m³) Mali 8
Hydrocarbon storage and imports account for CFAF 62.5 billion, or about 40% of the day’s direct approvals (TMG calculation). Combined with the DJIGUIYA programme, this points to a clear priority on the region’s fuel and input supply security.
What remains unknown
The published accounts do not disclose several points that decide the real value of the package:
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Cost and maturity. Concessional lines and market-rate lines carry very different weight for borrowers downstream.
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Currency. The CFA franc’s peg to the euro limits exchange risk on euro-denominated lines. It offers no such protection on any dollar-denominated funding.
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Status. Board approval precedes signing, and signing precedes disbursement. The dates for each step have not been published.
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Country allocation. How the SME and agriculture lines will be spread across the eight WAEMU member states.
Who is concerned
WAEMU banks and microfinance institutions are the main channel for the SME lines, which BOAD on-lends through partner institutions. Governments and state enterprises stand to benefit from the agriculture, energy and emergency supply programmes. Private sponsors in renewables and agro-industry gain access to longer-term funding through the KfW and CDP lines.
Guinea is outside the WAEMU and does not borrow from BOAD. For Guinean operators, the package is mainly a benchmark: it shows the scale and terms regional development banks can now mobilise.
What to watch
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Signing and first drawdowns of each of the five lines.
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Disclosed terms, particularly for the China Development Bank and AfDB SME lines.
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The securitisation programme, which would be a new source of funding beyond credit lines.
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DJIGUIYA disbursements, and how they are allocated between agricultural inputs and energy.