AfDB Approves Nearly $1bn for Morocco and Botswana Reforms
By News

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved close to USD 1 billion in budget-support financing for Morocco and Botswana in the past week, as both countries try to absorb rising energy and transport costs linked to the crisis in the Middle East. The Bank’s Board approved USD 487 million for Morocco on 21 October and USD 503.75 million for Botswana, announced on 23 October. Both packages tie funding to economic reforms, with an emphasis on private-sector growth, job creation and resilience to external shocks, areas that will shape where development employers focus in the coming years.

Morocco: reforms and climate resilience

Morocco’s USD 487 million package finances the third phase of the Programme to Support the Strengthening of Economic Governance and Resilience to Climate Change (PGRCC-Phase III), according to the AfDB. It has two components. The first aims to restructure the public enterprise portfolio, modernise the framework for public-private partnerships and improve the business climate, with the goal of mobilising more private investment, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The second focuses on modernising governance of the water and electricity sectors and integrating climate considerations more fully into public policy to support a low-carbon transition.

The operation sits under the AfDB’s Global Energy and Fertiliser Crisis Response Framework. “Our ambition is to help cushion exogenous shocks, whether economic, energy-related or climate-related,” said Abdoulaye Coulibaly, the Bank’s Director for Governance and Economic Reforms. Hespress noted that the approval follows other recent AfDB financing for Morocco, including agreements on rail and airport infrastructure. Since 1978, the Bank Group has mobilised nearly €15 billion for more than 150 projects in the country.

Botswana: cushioning the energy shock and the diamond slump

Botswana’s USD 503.75 million (6.62 billion pula) loan is the first phase of a two-year Economic Competitiveness and Transformation Support Program covering 2026/27 and 2027/28, with USD 170 million in co-financing from the OPEC Fund, the AfDB said. The Bank described it as one of its largest operations in the country, while Ecofin Agency noted that the interest rate and repayment terms had not been disclosed.

The context is a difficult one. Diamonds account for about 30% of Botswana’s GDP and nearly 80% of exports, and a prolonged downturn in the diamond market contributed to GDP contractions of 2.8% in 2024 and 0.7% in 2025, according to the AfDB. Ecofin reported that Moody’s downgraded Botswana to Baa2 on 25 September and that the loan is equivalent to about 71% of the government’s revised 2026/27 deficit.

The programme includes social and household measures. Three months of supplementary payments are expected to reach about 279,000 older and vulnerable people, including pensioners and disability grant recipients. Around 4,300 additional families are due to receive secure land titles within a year. On energy, Botswana plans a costed National Electrification Action Plan under the Mission 300 initiative, aiming to raise household electricity access from 79.5% in 2025/26 to universal access by 2030, and at least one competitive renewable energy auction for solar and wind.

Jobs are central. The AfDB cites unemployment of 21% overall and 28.9% among young people, with 37% of young people not in education, employment or training. Targets for 2027/28 include 3,292 active micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and 3,935 direct jobs, with women-owned firms expected to make up 93% of supported enterprises. “Our role is to help finance the adjustment, while protecting those least able to bear its costs,” said Moono Mupotola, the AfDB’s Deputy Director General for Southern Africa.

What it means for the sector

Budget-support loans of this kind do not fund NGOs directly, but they influence the wider development landscape. Reform programmes create demand for policy, governance and public financial management expertise; social protection top-ups require delivery and monitoring; and commitments on SMEs, women’s enterprise, youth employment and renewable energy often open space for implementing partners, think tanks and social enterprises. Both packages also show multilateral lenders increasingly framing their support around shocks, energy, climate and commodity prices, rather than single projects.

What this means for NGO job seekers

If you are looking at development careers in North or Southern Africa, the skills these programmes emphasise are a useful guide:

  • Economic governance and public finance: policy analysts, public financial management advisers and procurement specialists.
  • Private sector and livelihoods: enterprise development officers, women’s economic empowerment specialists and youth employment programme staff.
  • Energy and climate: renewable energy project officers, energy access specialists and climate policy advisers.
  • Social protection: cash transfer, targeting and beneficiary data management roles.
  • Monitoring and evaluation: results-based M&E staff able to track reform indicators and job-creation targets.

Practical advice: show that you understand how development finance works, familiarity with results frameworks, multilateral bank procedures and policy reform matrices sets candidates apart. French and Arabic are valuable for Morocco-based roles. Consultancies with think tanks, government ministries and implementing partners are common routes into this field.

Explore openings on our NGO jobs in Morocco and NGO jobs in Botswana pages, browse other countries via NGO jobs by country, or search all roles on Browse Jobs. Visit our career resources for application tips.

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