TDB GROUP AND ALSF SIGN AN MOU TO BUILD THE CAPACITY OF PUBLIC SECTOR LAWYERS IN AFRICA

Nairobi/ Abidjan, 6 December 2021 – The Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank Group (TDB Group) and the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on the development and delivery of capacity building training programs for public sector lawyers in Africa. A first training programme on project and infrastructure development and financing is planned for the first half of 2022.

Admassu Tadesse, TDB President Emeritus and Group Managing Director said that: “Our Member States regularly engage in various transactions with lenders globally and regionally – including with TDB – to drive their development agendas. Via this partnership with ALSF, we look forward to enhancing their capacity to manage incoming capital, so that they can continue serving their constituencies the best way possible, in line with triple bottom-line impact imperatives.”

Olivier Pognon, ALSF Director and CEO said “The ALSF is delighted by this partnership with the TDB Group with which we share common goals, especially fostering regional economic integration and sustainable development of the African continent. We look forward to a multi-dimensional collaboration to enhance the capacity and resources of our member countries.”

David Bamlango, Deputy Group MD and General Counsel of TDB Group said that: “Government negotiation and structuring of complex transactions – public private partnerships, sovereign loans, guarantees, cross-border projects, etc. – to finance infrastructure in transport, water and sanitation, power, ICT or other critical sectors is no easy task. We are pleased to sign this MOU with ALSF to deliver training to public sector lawyers in the region we serve, so that they can more effectively provide representation and counsel to their clients. At TDB we strongly believe that when Governments receive competent legal representation in negotiating and structuturing complex transactions, their capacity to execute projects successfully and absorb internationally-sourced financing increases.”

The training activities will be taking place under the auspices of TDB Group’s Legal Department and TDB Academy, with the support of, and in collaboration with, various partners.

About TDB
Established in 1985, the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB) is a multilateral, treaty-based, investment-grade development finance institution, with 41 sovereign and institutional shareholders and assets of USD 7.2 bn. TDB serves 22 economies in its region, with the mandate to finance and foster trade, regional economic integration, and sustainable development.

TDB is part of the TDB Group, which also comprises TDF (the Trade and Development Fund), ESATF (the Eastern and Southern African Trade Fund), TCI (TDB Captive Insurance), and the TDB Academy.
www.tdbgroup.org

About the ALSF
Created by the African Development Bank in 2008, the ALSF supports governments in negotiating complex commercial transactions, providing legal and technical assistance in public-private partnership projects across the oil and gas, mining and energy sectors, and covering sovereign debt issues and creditor litigation.
www.alsf.int

Media Contacts
Anne-Marie Iskandar, Senior Communications Officer
Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations
Trade and Development Bank
Anne-Marie.Iskandar@tdbgroup.org

Eve Ehoura, Communication Officer
African Legal Support Facility (ALSF)
e.ehoura@afdb.org