Where is the headquarters of the African Development Bank (AfDB), a regional multilateral development finance institution, located?

Introduction / Context:
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is a regional multilateral development institution that finances projects to promote sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty in Africa. Knowing the location of its headquarters is a standard question in the context of international and regional financial institutions.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The organisation is the African Development Bank (AfDB).
• The options are Abidjan, Niger, Namibia and Nigeria.
• We assume the recognised headquarter city used in most general knowledge sources.
• The task is to identify the correct city where the bank is based.

Concept / Approach:
The headquarters of the African Development Bank is located in Abidjan, the economic capital of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Although the AfDB temporarily moved its operations to Tunis during the Ivorian crisis, the headquarters returned to Abidjan, which is the answer commonly expected in examinations.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that AfDB is a pan African development bank with its official headquarters in an important West African city.Step 2: From standard general knowledge lists, remember that the headquarter city is Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire.Step 3: Examine the options and note that only Abidjan is a city, while Niger, Namibia and Nigeria are country names.Step 4: This also signals that Abidjan is the intended answer, since headquarters are normally identified by city rather than by country alone.Step 5: Therefore, choose Abidjan as the correct option.

Verification / Alternative check:
AfDB publications, websites and exam oriented books consistently list “Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire” as the headquarters. Even when the bank temporarily operated from Tunis, this was widely described as a temporary relocation, while Abidjan remained the official headquarters, confirming this choice for static GK questions.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Niger: A landlocked West African country, not the name of a city and not the specified headquarters of AfDB.

Namibia: A country in Southern Africa, again not a city and not the AfDB headquarters.

Nigeria: A major African economy, but the bank is not headquartered there; it only hosts some regional offices.

Common Pitfalls:
Some candidates may confuse Nigeria with Niger or mistake a large African economy like Nigeria for the host of the AfDB headquarters. Others may not recognise Abidjan as a city and hesitate. A simple memory tip is: “African Development Bank – Abidjan, Ivory Coast”.

Final Answer:
The headquarters of the African Development Bank is located in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.