MapAfrica 2.0 – Platform developed by the African Development Bank to chart continent’s progress

The African Development Bank (AfDB) late last month released an online tool that enables anyone in the world to see at a glance how the institution’s projects are boosting Africa’s economies and bettering the lives of Africans.

MapAfrica 2.0 is an interactive online portal that shows where the AfDB is making an impact on the continent – and how 800 of the continental institution’s projects relate to its “High 5” development priorities which include:
– Light up and power Africa;
– Feed Africa;
– Industrialize Africa;
– Integrate Africa, and
– Improve the quality of life for the African people.

In addition to providing visibility to a global audience, MapAfrica 2.0 will give the AfDB’s stakeholders a better understanding of how the financial institution’s activities are contributing to local development – and helps the AfDB ensure it allocates its resources to greatest effect.

MapAfrica 2.0 – an update to an earlier version – was launched on June 30, 2016 in the Ivorian capital, Abidjan, during the second meeting of the Fourteenth Replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF-14), as part of the Results Measurement Framework presentation.

Unveiling the platform, Simon Mizrahi, Director of the AfDB’s Quality Control and Results Department, said, “This dynamic tool enables the bank to provide transparent and equal access to its work across Africa. It is an effort to showcase our results and to track our projects on the ground.”

MapAfrica 2.0, reflects the AfDB’s commitment to openness, which has seen the institution ranked, in April 2016, for the third consecutive year as one of the world’s 10 most open and transparent organizations, by Publish What You Fund.

With MapAfrica 2.0 – developed by the bank – web users can track the AfDB’s projects throughout Africa, zooming in on a region or country and browsing the icons corresponding to the Bank’s “High 5” priorities.

“MapAfrica 2.0 allows the AfDB to present its investments and results in a simple and more intuitive way, bringing the institution closer to the people they serve,” said Jean-Louis Sarbib, the CEO of Development Gateway.

In the future, the AfDB aims to use the tool to improve the planning of its projects on the ground and to understand where development gaps lie.

Source: African Development Bank