• BADEA provides a $75 million term loan to Africa Finance Corporation to expand infrastructure financing capacity.
• AFC plans to channel the funds into energy, transport, logistics, telecom, industrial and natural-resource projects.
• The partnership supports long-term capital mobilisation for a sector facing an annual financing gap of up to $108 billion.

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) secured a $75 million term loan from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA). The institutions announced the agreement last week. BADEA will direct the funds toward energy, transport, logistics, telecommunications and industrial projects to strengthen private-sector development and expand AFC’s financing capacity across the continent.

AFC says the loan supports its core mandate to develop and finance infrastructure in multiple sectors in Africa. The corporation plans to allocate the funds to energy generation and transmission, transport infrastructure including roads, logistics corridors and ports, industrial processing facilities, telecom and digital networks, mining projects and natural-resource operations.

The loan also aims to reinforce private-sector activity in countries where AFC and BADEA operate, while consolidating BADEA’s role as a strategic financial partner.

Leaders of both institutions emphasised the continuity of their partnership. BADEA President Abdullah Almusaibeeh reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to providing medium- and long-term financing adapted to infrastructure needs. AFC President and CEO Samaila Zubairu underscored the corporation’s need to diversify its capital base to support multi-year project pipelines.

The partnership contributes to a broader objective: mobilising long-term resources to address Africa’s infrastructure gap. The African Development Bank estimates annual infrastructure needs at $130–170 billion, with a financing shortfall that may reach $108 billion.

This article was initially published in French by Chamberline Moko 

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum