The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has secured a record US$2 billion syndicated loan to support infrastructure and industrial development across the continent, marking the largest financing facility in the institution’s history.
The pan-African infrastructure lender announced the deal on Thursday, saying strong investor demand enabled it to increase the size of the facility from an initial target of US$1.6 billion.
AFC President and Chief Executive Officer Samaila Zubairu said the funding would help accelerate critical infrastructure projects and strengthen industrialisation efforts across Africa.
“The capital that we raise goes into African infrastructure build-out and African industrialisation build-up, essentially creating jobs for Africans,” Zubairu told Reuters.
He said the financing would support long-term planning and investment in key sectors, including transport, energy and industrial corridors that connect economies across the continent.
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The syndicated loan was arranged by a group of international and regional lenders led by Barclays, Commerzbank, First Abu Dhabi Bank and FirstRand Bank.
The successful fundraising comes at a time when African governments face growing infrastructure financing gaps amid rising debt levels, tighter global financial conditions and increasing demand for investment in energy, transportation and industrial projects.
According to the AFC, investor appetite for the transaction reflected confidence in the institution’s financial strength and project execution record.
“There is a lot more confidence, a lot more partners,” Zubairu said. “We are constantly demonstrating that Africa is executing. Africa is building.”
The AFC has played a prominent role in financing some of the continent’s largest infrastructure and industrial projects in recent years. Among them is the massive Dangote Refinery in Nigeria, one of Africa’s biggest oil refining facilities, and the continent’s largest copper smelter in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The corporation said infrastructure remains one of the most significant constraints on Africa’s economic development, with the continent requiring hundreds of billions of dollars in investment annually to close gaps in energy supply, transport networks and industrial capacity.
Beyond raising capital internationally, AFC is also working to mobilise more domestic African capital for long-term development projects.
Zubairu said the institution is engaging policymakers and regulators to reform investment and capital market rules that often encourage African savings to flow into foreign assets rather than local infrastructure projects.
The goal, he said, is to create structures that enable pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors across Africa to channel more capital into projects on the continent.
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Founded in 2007, the AFC has grown into one of Africa’s leading infrastructure financiers. The multilateral development finance institution now has assets exceeding $19 billion and counts 48 African countries among its member states.
The corporation has expanded its role in sectors ranging from energy and mining to transport, telecommunications and logistics, positioning itself as a key player in efforts to boost regional integration and economic transformation.
Its growing international standing has also been reflected in a series of strong credit ratings. In January, AFC received an A credit rating from S&P Global Ratings. It also holds an A3 rating from Moody’s Ratings, an AAAspc rating from S&P Ratings China and an A+ rating from the Japan Credit Rating Agency.
Analysts say the latest fundraising demonstrates continued investor interest in African infrastructure opportunities despite global economic uncertainty and could help unlock further financing for projects aimed at driving growth, industrialisation and job creation across the continent.
