IsDB Approves $277m to Foster Inclusive, Sustainable Growth in Member Countries

•IsDB president tasks global financial leaders on agile, risk-tolerant financing approaches

Sunday Okobi

Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) has approved over US$277 million in new development financing to help create jobs, improve access to essential services, and support inclusive, sustainable growth across its member countries, including Nigeria.

According to a statement made available to THISDAY yesterday by the bank in Saudi Arabia, the decisions were made during the 361st Meeting of the IsDB Board of Executive Directors, chaired by IsDB President, His Excellency Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser.

The statement said the latest round of development financing approvals highlighted the bank’s strong commitment to supporting transformative projects that made a tangible difference in people’s lives, while advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The approved financing package spans vital sectors, namely healthcare, education, and transportation, and it is focused on addressing urgent development challenges, from improving urban mobility to strengthening public health systems and building human capital.

IsDB President, Dr. Al Jasser, urged global financial leaders to adopt financing approaches that were agile, inclusive, and risk-tolerant to confront today’s overlapping crises and build resilience in fragile contexts.

The bank statement disclosed that in Mauritania, the IsDB Board approved EUR26.18 million for “Expansion of the National Cardiology Centre in Nouakchott Project, which will strengthen the country’s ability to prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases, one of the leading causes of premature death.

“It will also improve access to life-saving specialized care for thousands of people.”

The statement added that in Côte d’Ivoire, a financing package of EUR200 million will support the “Abidjan Sustainable and Integrated Urban Mobility Project, a major initiative that will modernize the city’s public transport system.

“The project aims to reduce congestion, promote greener transportation, and make it easier for residents, especially those in underserved areas to reach jobs, schools, and essential services.

“Meanwhile, in The Gambia, IsDB is investing $ 32.20 million to help establish the ‘School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (SMAHS)’ at the University of The Gambia.

“This initiative will help address the country’s critical shortage of healthcare professionals by building a pipeline of locally trained doctors, nurses, and public health experts, ultimately improving the quality and resilience of the national health system.”

The statement said the approval of the strategic projects “underscores IsDB’s steadfast commitment to financing transformative, high-impact initiatives that drive socio-economic progress.

“These investments demonstrate the bank’s multidimensional and substantial contribution to the Member Countries’ development priorities towards building a more resilient, inclusive, and prosperous future, forming part of IsDB’s broader efforts to foster impactful investments that deliver sustainable, measurable results and help communities thrive.”

IsDB is the pioneering multilateral development bank (MDB) of the Global South that has been working for over 50 years to improve the lives of the people and communities it serves by delivering impact at scale.

The bank brings together 57 member countries across four continents, touching the lives of nearly one of four people worldwide. It is committed to addressing development challenges and promoting collaboration to help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by equipping people to drive their own green economic and sustainable social progress, putting planet-friendly infrastructure in place and enabling them to fulfil their potential.

Al Jasser urged global financial leaders to adopt financing approaches that were agile, inclusive, and risk-tolerant to confront current overlapping crises and build resilience in fragile contexts.

He spoke at a high-level session, themed, “Financing the Future: Resilience, Reconstruction, and Innovative Financing in Fragile Contexts,” co-convened by the IsDB Group and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the margins of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (#FfD4) in Spain, recently.

Al Jasser emphasised the need to bridge the divide between immediate humanitarian relief and long-term reconstruction.

He stressed that recovery efforts must restore not only infrastructure but also institutions, livelihoods, and public trust.

The session, according to the bank’s statement, brought together global voices and featured notable speakers, including H.E. Salah Jama, Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia; Mr. Haoliang Xu, Acting Administrator of UNDP; H.E. Hassatou Diop N’Sele, Vice President for Finance and CFO of the African Development Bank Group; Mr. Marwan Mohammed Al-Suwaidi, Executive Director of Financial Affairs and Investments at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI); and Rania Dagash-Kamara, Assistant Executive Director Partnerships and Innovation at WFP.

Participants at the event underscored the urgency of risk-tolerant and climate-smart financing to move from immediate relief toward sustainable recovery.

They highlighted that empowering communities and strengthening local institutions were critical to breaking repeated cycles of crisis and building durable resilience.

During the panel discussion, speakers emphasised that fragility and complexity must remain at the heart of development efforts, urging greater investment in frontier markets through decentralised approaches, blended finance, and locally grounded Islamic finance instruments, such as Sukuk and Takaful.

The participants highlighted the importance of bridging financing gaps with flexibility and risk-tolerant mechanisms to crowd in private capital. They called for stronger institutions that could coordinate holistic, area-based recovery strategies.

They also stressed that the private sector should be positioned as a central partner in reconstruction, with innovative risk-sharing solutions scaled up to support communities in rebuilding not only infrastructure but also the social contract and economic foundations essential for long-term stability.

The high-level session was co-convened by the Islamic Development Bank Group and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), reflecting their shared commitment to advancing innovative, partnership-based financing solutions for fragile and conflict-affected contexts.