AUDA-NEPAD, 25 years of Shaping Africa’s Development Trajectory

By Njabulo Dlamini

AUDA-NEPAD celebrates 25 years of connecting communities, strengthening economies, and improving lives across Africa.

JOHANNESBURG, 14 May 2026 – The African Union Development Agency – NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) has launched its Silver Jubilee with a Gala Dinner in Johannesburg. A Business Breakfast with the Thabo Mbeki Foundation will follow in Cape Town on 21 May 2026. These events begin a year-long, continent-wide celebration for Africa’s top development agency.

The anniversary marks 25 years since NEPAD was launched by President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt as Africa’s response to its development challenges.

What is today known as AUDA-NEPAD emerged from Africa’s determination to shape its own development trajectory at the turn of the century. The Millennium Africa Recovery Plan and the Omega Plan were two ambitious African visions for renewal and transformation. These plans were united to form the New African Initiative, which later evolved into the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) in 2001. After the African Union was established in 2002, African leaders placed NEPAD at the centre of the continent’s development agenda. The NEPAD Secretariat was created to drive implementation and support coordination across Africa.

As Africa’s ambitions grew more demanding, the African Union established the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency in 2010. This strengthened the institution’s operational capacity and firmly embedded it within the AU system. In July 2018, the AU Assembly transformed the NEPAD Agency into the African Union Development Agency, AUDA-NEPAD. AUDA-NEPAD became the continent’s first dedicated development agency. Its purpose is to turn Agenda 2063 from a continental vision into a measurable reality.

“We gather to honour a choice made in 2001, a deliberate, political and intellectual choice by a generation of African leaders who believed that Africa could no longer be spoken for, planned for, or developed from the outside.” said, Mrs Nardos Bekele-Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of AUDA-NEPAD.

Over 25 years, the agency evolved from a declaration of shared intent into an institution with tangible impacts on infrastructure, agriculture, health, climate resilience, gender equality, and youth empowerment in all five regions of Africa.

In Rwanda, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)’s Crop Intensification Programme helped smallholder farmers increase maize yields from around 780 kg per hectare to over 2,500 kg, a 228% increase, while wheat yields rose by 173% over the same period. In Ghana, establishing a Private Sector Liaison Office within the Ministry of Food and Agriculture gave farmer associations and agribusinesses formal access to budget planning for the first time. By 2009, Ghana’s agricultural sector was growing at 6.2%, with rice production up 30%.

In trade and connectivity, AUDA-NEPAD’s One-Stop Border Post programme began with a single crossing at Chirundu, between Zambia and Zimbabwe, in 2009. Today, it has 32 operational posts, with 85 more underway. Average border wait times are down 42%, and in some cases, as much as 98%. The Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa launched a 510-kilometre power line in January 2025, linking Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and the DRC. This line now connects 21 previously off-grid villages, reaches 198,000 people, and creates over 400 jobs.

On health, the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation (AMRH) programme has cut medicine registration timelines in the East African Community from two to three years to under twelve months, ensuring faster access to HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis treatments. In Zambia, the SATBHSS programme supported treatment for 198,201 tuberculosis patients between 2017 and 2023. TB incidence fell by 26%, and treatment success rates rose from 81% to 98%. The World Health Organisation recognised Zambia as one of the few countries globally to reduce TB incidence by over 20% and mortality by more than 35%.

The NEPAD Spanish Fund for African Women’s Empowerment supported 79 projects in 38 countries over 15 years, directly benefiting over 1.2 million women. That work evolved into the Creating Opportunities for Youth and Women in Africa (COYWA) programme. SIFA organised 210 women in northeastern Ethiopia into cooperatives covering poultry, dairy, and vegetable production. By January 2026, all had passed national competency assessments and were generating steady income. In Lagos, Nigeria, 100 young Nigerians, 75% women, received animation training through Basement Animation’s Capacity Building Programme, with graduates securing jobs in the creative industry.

Groundbreaking Milestones

• African Union Development Agency Transformation: Transitioned NEPAD into AUDA-NEPAD, decisively strengthening its mandate as the technical arm of the African Union and sharpening its role in implementing Agenda 2063.
• African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM): Facilitated the establishment of Africa’s home-grown governance accountability framework, now embraced by 44 Member States, as a model of African-led democratic self-assessment.
• Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA): Established PIDA to unlock transformative cross-border connectivity in energy, transport, water, and ICT, providing the continental blueprint for closing Africa’s infrastructure deficit.
• Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP): Drove agriculture-led growth, food security, and rural livelihoods transformation for millions of Africans, making CAADP a cornerstone of the continent’s sustainable development architecture.
• Skills Initiative for Africa (SIFA): Promoted demand-driven skills development and vocational training, empowering African youth, improving employability, and aligning human capital investment with labour market realities.
• African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): Support Provided technical expertise to accelerate AfCFTA implementation, boosting intra-African trade, deepening industrialisation, and advancing Africa’s economic self-sufficiency.
• Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AAMFI): Mobilised innovative financing solutions, including blended finance and public-private partnerships, to close Africa’s infrastructure gap and attract long-term development capital.
• Regional Economic Communities (RECs) Partnership: Strengthened strategic collaboration with RECs across the continent, ensuring alignment of continental priorities with regional and national development agendas for coherent, integrated delivery.

Anniversary Events

The Gala Dinner on 14 May 2026 takes place alongside the 74th Ordinary Session of the AUDA-NEPAD Steering Committee, held in Johannesburg from 14 to 15 May 2026. Angola leads the Session, following the election of H.E. President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço as Chairperson of the AUDA-NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee in February 2026. H.E. Ambassador Téte António, Minister of External Relations of Angola, and H.E. François Nibizi, Senior Official of the Government of Burundi, co-chair the meeting. The Gala Dinner unites African Union officials, development partners, private sector representatives, and civil society to mark achievements and discuss next steps.

On 21 May 2026, AUDA-NEPAD and the Thabo Mbeki Foundation co-host a Business Breakfast in Cape Town, uniting thought leaders, policymakers, business figures, and development practitioners. Discussion will focus on private-sector investment, continental governance, and African-driven growth.

Participate in these forums, summits, and showcases throughout the year to engage with AUDA-NEPAD’s impactful work in infrastructure, digital transformation, agricultural value chains and climate adaptation.

“Twenty-five years is not merely a measure of time. It is a measure of resolve and a testament to what becomes possible when Africa dares to lead.  We invite every Member State, every partner, and every African citizen to walk with us through this milestone year. Together, we will build the Africa we want.” said, Mrs Nardos Bekele-Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of AUDA-NEPAD.