THE HISTORY OF THE OPEC FUND
space, rising debt burdens, lower trade flows and reduced investments are undermining progress towards the SDGs and intensifying climate and food crises. The expansion is explicitly linked to the wider MDB reform agenda, aiming at delivering “greater impact and scale,” as stated in June 2025. The OPEC Fund is well prepared to face these challenges. Following a 2024 Strategy review and update, carried out in close alignment with member countries, the institution reaffirmed its overarching goals as: • Promoting Sustainable Development through South-South Cooperation • Driving Climate Innovation and a Just Transition • Building Resilient and Equitable Societies. To achieve these goals, the operational priorities are defined as: • Building Infrastructure • Developing Human Capital • Enhancing Institutional Capacity • Promoting Private Sector and Trade. These are complemented by two cross- cutting themes:
Mission 300 With more than half a billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa living without access to electricity, Mission 300 is an ambitious initiative to connect 300 million people to electricity in the region by 2030. Led by the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank, Mission 300 brings together African governments, the private sector and development partners such as the OPEC Fund to deliver affordable power, expand electricity access, boost utility efficiency, attract private investment and improve regional energy integration. African governments have committed to important sector
reforms that are being implemented through country-led Energy Compacts. To build on these reforms, the World Bank is increasing its support for energy projects in Africa, leveraging U$30 billion by 2030, while mobilizing private sector investments. The OPEC Fund announced in January 2025 that it will join Mission 300 with up to US$2 billion by 2027. Addressing energy poverty in an environment-friendly way is a key concern of the OPEC Fund. Guided by its Climate Action Plan, the institution has significantly scaled up its engagements in recent years, especially in Africa.
The Arab Coordination Group (ACG)
The ACG is formed by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Arab Gulf Programme for Development, the Arab Monetary Fund, the Islamic Development Bank, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, the OPEC Fund for International Development, the Qatar Fund for Development and the Saudi Fund for Development.
Established in 1975, it has grown to become the second largest development financier in the world, providing more than 13,000 development loans to over 160 countries to date. In 2024 alone, the ACG extended US$19.6 billion collectively to fund nearly 650 operations developing critical infrastructure, addressing global challenges like climate change and food security and supporting international trade.
• Driving Climate Action, and • Bolstering Food Security.
Climate Action and Food Security are addressed as cross-cutting priorities because of their urgency, systemic impact and fundamental importance to the 2030 Agenda. Despite decades of international climate diplomacy – including global efforts to secure binding emissions-reduction commitments – 2024 became the warmest year ever recorded, and the first full year in which global temperatures surpassed the 1.5°C limit set under the Paris Agreement. At the same time, an estimated 8.2 percent of the global population, about 675 million people, experienced hunger in 2024, six years before SDG 2 was supposed to deliver “Zero Hunger.” Particularly concerning is the rise in hunger across most subregions of Africa and Western Asia, according to the United Nations. The OPEC Fund adopted its Climate Action Plan in 2022 with the goal of increasing the share of climate-relevant projects to 40 percent of its annual financing by 2030. Recognizing that climate finance still falls short of the scale required to meet global targets,
“Over the past half century, the ACG has exemplified the power of partnership, demonstrating the strength of collective action. Together, members advanced sustainable development, strengthened South-South cooperation and delivered lasting impact. That the ACG has become the world's second-largest development finance coalition speaks for itself and is testament to its numerous achievements.”
Musab Alomar, Vice President, Strategy, OPEC Fund
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