Who We Are | AUDA-NEPAD

About Us
The AUDA-NEPAD Journey
Leadership
Mandate
Governance
AUDA-NEPAD Decisions
Contact Us

About Us

At the 31st Ordinary Session of the Assembly of African Union Heads of State and Government in Nouakchott, Mauritania, June 2018, a decision was taken to transform the NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency into the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD). The establishment of AUDA-NEPAD is part of the global reforms geared at improving the Union’s impact and operational efficiency.

The mandate of AUDA-NEPAD is to: a) Coordinate and Execute priority regional and continental projects to promote regional integration towards the accelerated realisation of Agenda 2063; and b) Strengthen capacity of African Union Member States and regional bodies, advance knowledge-based advisory support, undertake the full range of resource mobilisation and serve as the continent’s technical interface with all Africa’s development stakeholders and development partners.

The new AUDA-NEPAD mandate gives the organisation a wider role in terms of providing knowledge-based advisory support to AU Member States in the pursuit of their national development priorities. The core functions of the Agency are to:

Incubate innovative programmes in various fields, including technology, research and development, knowledge management, and data analytics;
Provide technical and implementation support to RECs and Member States in the development and execution of priority projects and programmes;
Assist Member States and RECs to strengthen capacity in key areas such as food and nutrition, energy, water, infrastructure, information and communication technology and digital economy, natural resource governance, climate change and institutional and human capital development and innovation;
Provide advisory support in the setting up and application of norms and standards in thematic priorities of the AU to accelerate regional integration;
Provide technical backstopping to the AU in implementing policy recommendations at the continental, regional and national levels;
Monitor and assess Africa’s development trends and progress with the view to achieve key continental and global goals for the purpose of technical reporting;
Undertake, apply and disseminate research on policy development support for Member States;
Coordinate, facilitate and promote cooperation with Africa’s strategic partners and stakeholders for effective resource mobilisation;
Coordinate and facilitate partnership with stakeholders and African academia;
Foster the cooperation in Africa with the private sector; and
Coordinate between AU Specialised Agencies, Organs and other institutions to create an enabling and supportive environment for the achievement of the goals and priorities of Agenda 2063.

The AUDA-NEPAD Journey

2001

Millennium Africa Recovery Plan (MAP) and Omega Plan

The Millennium Africa Recovery Plan (MAP) and Omega Plan for Africa are combined to give birth to the New African Initiative (NAI) which then led to the establishment of NEPAD in 2001. In 2001, these are reworked and expanded to provide a framework for all African states. The founding Member States of NEPAD include South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, and Senegal.

37th Session of the OAU Assembly

NEPAD is adopted by African Heads of State and Government at the 37th Ordinary Session of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Assembly in Lusaka, Zambia, in July 2001.

2002

The African Union

The African Union (AU), the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), endorses the adoption of NEPAD as a programme of the AU at the AU Inaugural Summit in 2002.

The NEPAD Secretariat is established to coordinate the implementation of NEPAD programmes and projects.

2010

The NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency

The NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NEPAD Agency) is established in February 2010 as an outcome of the integration of NEPAD into AU structures and processes.

2018

The African Union Development Agency-NEPAD

At the 31st Ordinary Session of the Assembly of African Union Heads of State and Government in Nouakchott, Mauritania, in July 2018, a decision is taken to transform the NEPAD Agency into the first development agency of the African Union – AUDA-NEPAD, with a strengthened mandate to fast-track the realisation of Agenda 2063.

Leadership

Chief Executive Officer

H.E. NARDOS BEKELE-THOMAS

Chairperson of the AUDA-NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee

H.E. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt

Chairperson of the African Union Commission

H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf

H.E. Mahmoud Youssouf (Djibouti) is the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Government Spokesperson of the Republic of Djibouti where he served since 2005. During this time, he led the implementation of the Foreign Policy, managed and led international relations, agreements and cooperation with states and international organizations.

From 2001 to 2005, H.E. Youssouf served as the Minister Delegate for International Cooperation at the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Prior to this position, from 1997 to 2001, he served as the plenipotentiary and Extraordinary Ambassador of the Republic of Djibouti to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the Arab League of States. At the same time, he served as the Non-Resident Ambassador plenipotentiary and Extraordinary of the Republic of Djibouti to Sudan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.

He has also served as both the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). In the earlier years, he served as the Director of the Department of the Arab world and Deputy Director of the Directorate for International Organizations, among key other roles.

He has a Master’s in Management from the University of Laval, Canada.

Mandate

Provide knowledge-based advisory services and technical assistance to African Union Member States and Regional Economic Communities to strengthen their capacity
Act as the continent's technical interface on policy development recommendation and implementation with partners and stakeholders
Undertake the full range of resource mobilisation
Coordinate and execute priority regional and continental projects enshrined in Agenda 2063 with the aim of accelerating regional integration so as to achieve "The Africa we want"

Governance

Assembly of the African Union

The Chairperson of the Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC) reports to the African Union Assembly on AUDA-NEPAD activities and makes recommendations for decisions for consideration and adoption.

AUDA-NEPAD Heads of State and Government Committee (HSGOC)

A 33-Member State sub-committee of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government that provides the highest political leadership and strategic guidance on Agenda 2063 priority issues and reports its recommendations to the full Assembly for endorsement. The Chairperson of the AU Commission also participates in HSGOC Summits.

Personal Representatives of African Heads of States

The Committee consists of the personal representatives of African Heads of States and normally meets about four times a year. It provides policy guidance and strategic advice to AUDA-NEPAD. The Sub-Committee is composed of 15 members based on agreed geographical distribution.

AUDA-NEPAD Steering Committee

Is an intermediary body to interface between the HSGOC and AUDA-NEPAD, which oversees the activities of AUDA-NEPAD. The Committee is composed of the personal representatives of the Heads of State and Government of the HSGOC.

In addition, representatives from the eight AU-recognised Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the AUC, African Development Bank (AfDB), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (UNOSAA) and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) participate in AUDA-NEPAD Steering Committee meetings as observers.