The African cities program is one of the pillars of the Fund's action, which consists in supporting African cities in the development of structuring investment plans in the short, medium and long term. It now concerns cities such as “Kolwezi”, which is a mining town in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is facing rapid urban growth and major environmental challenges; “Grand Nokoué”, a group of cities with more than two million inhabitants and the economic heart of Benin; “Buffalo City”, a South African coastal city for which climate resilience is a priority; “Joal”, a medium-sized city in Senegal, which seeks to further integrate environmental and social issues into its economic development; “Juba”, in South Sudan, which prioritizes the provision of basic services for a growing and particularly vulnerable population and; “Nouakchott”, the capital of Mauritania, which is considering combining projects on climate resilience, urban mobility and sustainable energy.

According to the municipalities, the Urban and Municipal Development Fund will finance a support program lasting several months, during which a precise diagnosis of the strengths and vulnerabilities of each of these cities will be carried out, in particular with regard to economic, social, climate and gender issues. The next step will be to identify transformative infrastructure projects around which to federate public and private donors