The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is preparing to launch operations in three Sub-Saharan African countries as part of its strategic expansion beyond its traditional regions, the bank’s president, Odile Renaud-Basso, said on May 12.

“We are going to expand our horizons,” Renaud-Basso told a press conference ahead of the EBRD’s annual meeting in London. “We are expected to have three new countries of operation — Côte d’Ivoire, Benin and Nigeria — and others are in the process of membership.”

The move follows a landmark decision by the EBRD’s board of governors in 2023 to amend the bank’s charter and allow a limited and incremental expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa and Iraq.

Since then, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria have officially joined the bank as shareholders. Benin became the EBRD’s 75th shareholder in April 2024, followed by Côte d’Ivoire in January 2024 and Nigeria in February 2025.

The board of governors is now expected to approve the start of EBRD operations in all three countries.

Renaud-Basso said a pipeline of agreements was already being prepared. “We already have a pipeline to have agreements signed by summer,” she said.

The bank also plans to deepen its engagement with other Sub-Saharan African countries. “Iraq is to become a country of operation soon, and Kenya, Ghana and Senegal are in the process of membership,” she added.

The EBRD, which was established in 1991 to help former Eastern bloc countries transition to market economies, now works across nearly 40 economies in Europe, Central Asia, the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, and increasingly in Africa. The bank supports private sector development through a combination of investments, policy advice and capacity building, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and digitalisation.