The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), the Lomé-based development finance arm of the West African bloc, has approved more than $417mn in financing for five public and private sector projects covering transport infrastructure, healthcare, housing finance, mining, public asset management and regional connectivity.

The approvals were made at EBID’s 99th ordinary board session, held on July 6 under the chairmanship of the bank’s president, George Agyekum Donkor. EBID said the projects were intended to support economic growth, employment creation, private sector development and improved access to essential services across West Africa.

They come as EBID seeks to expand its lending capacity. The bank plans to double its balance sheet over the next five years as it seeks to help close an infrastructure funding gap estimated at as much as $36bn across the reduced 12-member ECOWAS region, an official told Bloomberg.

The largest approval was $260mn for a 123-kilometre (76-mile) section of the Trans-Saharan Highway in Nigeria. EBID said the project would improve road connectivity, facilitate cross-border trade, reduce logistics costs and support regional economic integration. The Trans-Saharan Highway is one of the continent’s major transport corridors, linking West Africa with North Africa and intended to improve trade flows between inland and coastal markets.

The board also approved a CFA10bn ($17.9mn) line of credit to Banque de l’Habitat de Côte d’Ivoire (BHCI) to expand housing finance and support small and medium-sized enterprises operating across the housing and construction value chain. EBID said the facility would help address Côte d’Ivoire’s housing deficit while supporting job creation in construction, building materials, services and related supply chains.

In Côte d’Ivoire, EBID approved €80mn ($93.8mn) for the design, construction, equipment and maintenance of the 150-bed Regional Hospital of Ferkessédougou under a public-private partnership. The project is aimed at improving access to modern healthcare and specialist medical services in the country’s north.

The bank also approved CFA12.82bn for the renovation, operation and maintenance of the Symphonie Building in Abidjan under a public-private partnership. The building is expected to house Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Justice, with the project intended to modernise a strategic public asset and improve the working environment for state institutions.

In Ghana, EBID approved $47.4mn for Azumah Resources Ghana Limited to finance long-lead process plant equipment and early development activities at the Black Volta Gold Project in the country’s Upper West Region. The financing is expected to support the development schedule for one of Ghana’s emerging gold mining projects.

“The projects approved during this 99th Board Session demonstrate EBID’s unwavering commitment to financing development solutions that directly improve the lives of West African citizens. From clean energy and transport infrastructure to healthcare, housing and financial sector resilience, these investments will strengthen regional competitiveness and support sustainable and inclusive growth across our community,” Donkor said.

Separately, MacDonald Saye Goanue, coordinator of the vice presidency operations at EBID, told Bloomberg in an interview the bank plans to double its balance sheet over the next five years. “Our growth strategy envisions that we will double our balance sheet” to about $4.4bn from around $2.2bn,” he said.

The bank expects a recent $100mn capital injection by the African Development Bank (AfDB) to help attract further investment, strengthen its credit profile, reduce funding costs and support larger lending operations.

“We’re inviting other actors into our capital to ensure that we have the capacity to fund major projects in the region,” Goanue said.

EBID financed 15 projects worth $817mn last year across sectors including transport and energy. Under its five-year strategy, 63% of new commitments will be directed towards the private sector.

“Our key role is to help our member states overcome basic challenges,” said Joseph Kwadwo Asenso, head of EBID’s macroeconomic research and studies division. “We do not only do cash-based lending, we also do grants, equity interventions and public-private partnerships, so governments don’t have to borrow and put it on their balance sheets.”

The bank is reviewing its lending framework as demand for capital frequently exceeds its approval thresholds, at a time when West African governments face high debt levels, wider deficits and limited fiscal space to fund infrastructure.

According to EBID’s West African Development Outlook, the region’s fiscal deficit is projected to widen to 3.5% of gross domestic product in 2026 from 2.6% last year.

“We’re consistently going to the board to seek approval because we are having demands coming in excess of our single legal limit,” Goanue said, telling Bloomberg the bank is working to “undertake larger transactions of $200mn to $300mn.”

EBID can lend no more than 15% of its paid-up capital to any one borrower. As project sizes across the region have increased, the limit has become a constraint, particularly in capital-intensive sectors such as energy, ports and transport infrastructure, Asenso said.

The plan comes as ECOWAS adjusts to a smaller effective bloc following the withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which have formed the Alliance of Sahel States. The exits have left 12 countries in the core ECOWAS bloc, increasing pressure on regional lenders to support integration, infrastructure and private sector development.