The AES states – Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger – are making great strides towards the creation of a Confederation Bank for Investment and Development (BCID). An ambitious project, promoted as the instrument of Sahelian economic sovereignty, intended to finance infrastructure, industrialization, and agricultural transformation. On paper, the idea is appealing: a bank of the states, by the states, for the states. In reality, the details remain unclear, the financing uncertain, and the operational capacity largely speculative.
The announced initial capital – 500 billion CFA francs – is significant on the scale of the AES, but modest compared to the colossal needs of the three countries. For comparison, the BOAD, backed by the WAEMU, deploys several hundred billion each year across eight states. As for the BIDC, with an authorized capital of over one billion dollars, it benefits from a regional network, donor support, and decades of existence. The BCID, on the other hand, starts from scratch in an unstable political environment, and without its own monetary framework.
Will it be a duplicate of the BOAD or the BIDC? No. It does not aim to be a duplicate or a satellite. Promoters speak of an autonomous tool, free from community burdens. A governance instrument, funded by a 0.5% levy on imports outside the AES and by better capture of mining revenues. The intention is clear: to break free from dependence on external donors. But between proclaimed sovereignty and budget reality, there is a gap. No details on the financial structuring have been published yet. What will be the guarantee mechanisms? Which rating agencies will validate the issuances? What is the real absorption capacity in economies with low banking penetration?
By rushing, there is a risk of building an empty shell. A regional bank without technical foundation, without trained staff, without credible governance, becomes a distributor of political favors, not a development lever. A project bank requires rigor, caution, and vision. Especially in an area where security instability remains high, public accounts fragile, and distrust from external partners persistent.
Certainly, creating a bank is a strong gesture. But the gesture is not enough. The continent is full of inefficient development banks, created with great fanfare of slogans and dying from inefficiency or diversion. The BCID must avoid this trap. Otherwise, it will join the long list of white elephants of pan-African financial institutions. A bank is not just a symbol. It is a mechanism of trust. And trust is built. Not with fiery press releases, but with actions, balance sheets, and results.
