The African Development Bank (AfDB) announced Friday it would receive $300 million (USD) from the government of Japan to increase access to clean coal technologies in African countries. The clean coal funding is in addition to a larger joint funding announcement of $3 billion, to be distributed over three years for private sector development. “We look forward to continued close collaboration with the AfDB so as to further accelerate the development of the African private sector, by delivering resilient and high-quality infrastructure and strengthening the health system,” Japanese State Minister of Finance Taku Otsuka said a press release.
The funding comes under the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa (EPSA) Initiative, a framework for the implementation of the AfDB’s Strategy for Private Sector Development, which is in its third phase. The initiative was launched at the Group of Eight summit in 2005. The first phase ran from 2005-2011 and the second from 2012-2016. The current phase will focus on economic infrastructure (transportation, energy, etc.) as well as social infrastructure (health, education, nutrition).