The shareholders of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have approved applications by Ghana and Senegal to become members of the multilateral financial institution.

The authorities of the two West African countries each applied for EBRD membership in October 2023. The Bank’s Board of Governors has now approved the first stage in the membership process. Ghana and Senegal must meet some final pre-membership requirements before the process is concluded.

The move follows the Governors’ approval – at the EBRD’s 2023 Annual Meeting in Samarkand – of amendments to the Bank’s statutes to enable the limited and incremental expansion of its operations to sub-Saharan Africa and Iraq.

Ghana and Senegal have also requested to become recipients of EBRD financial and advisory services, which the Bank will address once the statutory amendments are in force.

EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso said: “We are very happy about this important milestone in the process for Ghana and Senegal to become new EBRD members. This reflects our Governors’ historic decision, last year, on the future expansion of the Bank’s operations to sub-Saharan African countries. Together with other international partners, our goal will be to help unleash the potential of the countries’ private sectors, create jobs and support sustainable development.”

The successful applications from Ghana and Senegal follow those from Benin and Cote d’Ivoire, whose memberships Governors approved in October 2023.

Since its inception in 1991, the EBRD has invested over €190mn ($205mn) in 6,969 projects and supported policy reforms to develop the private sector in over 30 economies. Its investments span natural resources, financial institutions, agribusiness, manufacturing and services, as well as infrastructure projects, such as power and renewable energy, and the upgrade of municipal services.