Africa Finance Corporation

What Africa Finance Corporation does

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) is a multilateral development finance institution founded in 2007 and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, with 48 sovereign member states across the African continent. AFC provides end-to-end infrastructure financing through seven integrated service lines: Principal Investing (equity, quasi-equity, mezzanine, senior debt, stream, and royalty instruments across Power, Heavy Industry/Telecoms/Technology, Transport & Logistics, and Natural Resources), Project Development (lead-developer and co-developer services with US$1-20 million exposure per project), Product Solutions (sovereign lending, guarantees, trade finance, and A/B Bonds up to 15-year tenor), Financial Advisory (project technical advisory, capital raising, fund management, and capital restructuring), Financial Institutions & Trade (Trade Finance Support Programme, Line of Credit Programme, Commodity Trade Finance Programme, and the US$2 billion African Economic Resilience Facility), Treasury Client Solutions (OTC hedging across interest rate, FX, and commodity risks plus structured financing via Total Return Swaps, Repos, and credit-linked notes), and Syndications (A/B Loan, Parallel Loan, P-Loan, and A/B-Bond structures). The Corporation also operates AFC Capital Partners, an independent asset management arm managing the US$750 million Infrastructure Climate Resilient Fund, and leads AFIDA (African Project Developer's Initiative), an industry think tank and network for improving project development standards on the continent.

AFC's business model combines investment income (interest, dividends, capital appreciation) from a balance sheet of approximately US$8.7 billion in total assets, advisory and project development fees (retainers and success fees), spread and fee income from treasury client solutions, syndication arrangement and underwriting fees, and asset management fees from AFC Capital Partners. To date, AFC has cumulatively disbursed approximately US$19 billion to projects across 36 African countries, with borrowers spanning African sovereign governments, large local and multinational corporates (Dangote Industries, BUA Group, Ethio Telecom, Heirs Energies), project sponsors, and African commercial and regional development banks. The Corporation funds itself through diversified debt capital markets (US syndicated loans, Eurobonds, Samurai loans, hybrid bonds) and bilateral DFI facilities (India Exim Bank, FinDev Canada, BADEA, CDP, EIB, GCF), holding an A3 rating from Moody's and a first-time A rating with positive outlook from S&P Global Ratings announced in January 2026. AFC is a founding member of AAMFI (Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions) and partners with AfDB, Afreximbank, EIB, GCF, BADEA, US DFC, and Italian institutions including CDP, SACE, Eni, and Enel.

Name

Africa Finance Corporation

Legal name

Africa Finance Corporation

Website

http://africafc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) is a multilateral development finance institution founded in 2007 with 48 African sovereign member states. It provides integrated infrastructure financing—principal investing, project development, advisory, treasury hedging, syndications, and asset management—across power, transport, natural resources, telecoms, and digital infrastructure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Development Finance

NAICS

Commercial Banking (522110), Depository Credit Intermediation (5221)

SIC

Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies (6111), National Commercial Banks (6021)

akta.pro primary industry

National Development Banks & State Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) (BPADACAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Captive CVC Fund (Dedicated corporate fund structure) (FSANAHAB), Corporate Strategic Partnership & Ecosystem Investment Arms (FSANAHAF)

Keywords

• Development finance
• Infrastructure investment
• Project development
• Sovereign lending
• Syndicated lending

Headquarters

HQ city

Lagos

HQ country

Nigeria

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Principal Investments: Returns from equity, quasi-equity, mezzanine, subordinated debt, senior debt, stream and royalty investments across Power, Heavy Industry/Telecom/Tech, Transport & Logistics, and Natural Resources; long-duration capital appreciation and interest income.
2. Project Development Fees and Retainers: Income from acting as lead developer or co-developer, including project development loans/equity, advisory retainers, success fees, and recoupment via MLA rights and equity at financial close.
3. Financial Advisory Services: Customised advisory including project technical advisory, project development support, financial advisory, capital raising advisory, fund management services and capital restructuring services for governments, SOEs, corporates and funds.
4. Treasury Client Solutions: Spread and fee income from over-the-counter hedging (IRS, FX, commodities), structured financing (Total Return Swaps, Repos), money market placements, fixed income investments, and cross-currency/liquidity intermediation.
5. Syndications and Trade Finance: Arranger and underwriting fees plus distribution income from mobilising funded and unfunded participations through A/B Loans, Parallel Loans, P-Loans, risk participations and A/B Bonds for project, sovereign, structured, trade and corporate finance.
6. Asset Management (AFC Capital Partners): Management fees and performance returns from the Infrastructure Climate Resilient Fund (ICRF) and related funds managed by AFC Capital Partners targeting climate adaptation and resilience projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) is a multilateral development finance institution that provides end-to-end infrastructure financing across Africa. Its core offerings include principal investing (equity, quasi-equity, mezzanine, senior debt, streaming, royalties), project development and lead-developer services, financial advisory, sovereign and corporate lending, trade finance for African banks, treasury hedging solutions, and syndicated mobilisation of third-party capital.

Product overview

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) operates as a unified multilateral development finance platform with a 360-degree solutions architecture, providing end-to-end infrastructure financing across Africa. Its service offering is organised into seven core solution lines: Principal Investing (equity, debt, quasi-equity, mezzanine, stream, royalty across Power, Heavy Industry/Telecoms/Technology, Transport & Logistics, and Natural Resources), Project Development (lead development, co-development, and PD Advisory), Product Solutions (sovereign lending, guarantees, trade finance, A/B Bond), Financial Advisory (project technical advisory, capital raising, restructuring), Financial Institutions & Trade (TFSP, Line of Credit Programme, CTFP, African Economic Resilience Facility), Treasury Client Solutions (OTC hedging, FX/interest rate/commodity derivatives, structured financing), and Syndications (A/B Loan, Parallel Loan, P-Loans, A/B-Bond mobilisation). These services are complemented by the AFC Capital Partners asset management subsidiary (which manages the US$750M Infrastructure Climate Resilient Fund) and the AFIDA project development network. Together, the platform combines investments, advisory, treasury, and syndication income streams to provide de-risked infrastructure solutions across the project lifecycle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AFC Capital Partners: AFC's independent asset management arm, managing the Infrastructure Climate Resilient Fund (ICRF) and other fund vehicles to mobilize capital for climate-resilient infrastructure across Africa.
• ARISE

Products and services

• Principal Investing Origination, execution and portfolio management of project, corporate, and trade finance investments across power, heavy industry/telecoms/technology, transport and logistics, and natural resources, deploying equity, quasi-equity, mezzanine/subordinated debt, senior debt, stream and royalty instruments.
• Project Development End-to-end project development services progressing early-stage infrastructure projects to financial close by acting as lead developer, co-developer, or technical advisor, including project development equity, loans and PD Advisory services.
• Product Solutions Structuring and lending solutions to sovereign, sub-sovereign, corporate finance and trade finance clients in USD and Euro, including sovereign lending, guarantees, trade finance, corporate finance, and A/B Bond products with tenors up to 15 years.
• Financial Advisory Customised financial and technical advice for public and private sector clients across Africa, including project technical advisory, project development support, financial advisory, capital raising, fund management services, and capital restructuring services.
• Financial Institutions & Trade Short- and medium-to-long-term financing to African financial institutions through funded (trade loans, lines of credit) and unfunded (LC confirmation, payment risk cover) structures, including the Trade Finance Support Programme, Line of Credit Programme, Commodity Trade Finance Programme, and African Economic Resilience Facility.
• Treasury Client Solutions Over-the-counter hedging and structured financing solutions for clients to manage interest rate, foreign exchange, and commodity price risks, including interest rate swaps, cross-currency swaps, FX forwards, commodity swaps, total return swaps, repos, and money market/fixed income instruments.
• Syndications Mobilises third-party financing from commercial banks, institutional investors, DFIs, sovereign wealth funds, and insurance companies into African infrastructure projects using A/B Loan, Parallel Loan, Partnership-Loan, Unfunded Risk Participation, and A/B-Bond structures on a best-efforts or underwritten basis.
• AFC Capital Partners Independent asset management arm of AFC managing the Infrastructure Climate Resilient Fund (ICRF) and other fund vehicles to mobilise capital for climate-resilient infrastructure across Africa.
• Infrastructure Climate Resilient Fund (ICRF) US$750 million climate finance fund employing project finance and private equity structures with blended concessional finance, targeting climate resilience of African ports, roads, bridges, rail, telecoms, clean energy and logistics.
• African Economic Resilience Facility US$2 billion facility disbursed via short and medium-term loans from AFC to African commercial banks, regional development banks, and central banks to provide hard-currency liquidity support in response to pandemic and geopolitical disruptions.

Quantifiable outcome

• US$19 billion disbursed to projects across 36 African countries
• +11 more outcomes

Named customers30 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, major and minor.

• Leading Italian institutions (CDP, SACE, Eni, Enel, SIMEST and others)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2026Series of strategic cooperation agreements signed at the AFC–Italy Business Forum in Rome (17 June 2026) to mobilise capital and accelerate industrial development across Africa.
• Federal Government of Nigeria (SMDF)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 March 2026MoU to jointly fund a US$1.3 billion alumina refinery, geoscience mapping and a strategic investment vehicle; project to process 1 million tonnes of bauxite per annum and produce ~19 million tonnes of alumina over 20 years.
• Ethio TelecommajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 February 2026Strategic discussions to explore a financing partnership supporting Ethio Telecom's "Next Horizon: Digital & Beyond 2028" strategy covering digital infrastructure, AI platforms, hyperscale cloud and cross-border connectivity.
• Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AAMFI)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 February 2026AFC is a founding member of AAMFI; co-launched the US$1.5 billion AAMFI Infrastructure Financing Facility (AIFF) at the Luanda Infrastructure Financing Summit to fund projects in energy, transport, water and ICT. Samaila Zubairu served as AAMFI Chairperson until February 2026.
• Eaglestone (Lobito Atlantic Railway)majorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 2 January 2026AFC and Eaglestone acted as joint Co-Financial Advisers for Lobito Atlantic Railway S.A. on the US$753 million financing package for the 1,300-km railway in Angola.
• Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 November 2025Two-day capacity-building workshop in Lagos with NGX to strengthen Nigeria's infrastructure project financing capabilities, focusing on green bonds, risk guarantees and capital market instruments.
• Infinity Power (Ras Ghareb Wind Farm, Egypt)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 November 2025AFC supported the 200 MW Ras Ghareb Wind Farm developed by Infinity Power; EBRD, Proparco and JICA provided US$153 million of senior debt with construction underway for 2027 completion.
• Lagos Fashion Week 2025minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 27 October 2025Partnership to promote Africa's creative economy and sustainable fashion/textiles, leveraging AFC's industrial platform investments including the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone in Benin.
• AfDB, Afreximbank, Africa50 (Africa Green Industrialization Initiative)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 September 2025AFC signed the US$100 billion Africa Green Industrialization Initiative Cooperation Framework at the 2025 Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa alongside AfDB, Afreximbank and Africa50.
• Lobito Corridor consortium (Mota-Engil, Trafigura, Vecturis)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 May 2025AFC part of up to US$6 billion in financial commitments alongside the DFC, Afreximbank and AfDB supporting the Lobito Atlantic Railway consortium rehabilitating the Benguela Railway line and developing the Lobito Corridor for critical minerals from DRC and Zambia.
• Aker EnergyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 April 2023AFC acquired a 50% stake in Aker Energy, becoming sole shareholder of the Aker Energy vehicle developing the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) block, with a focus on the Pecan field offshore Ghana. The transaction advances development of significant oil reserves.
• Olam International (ARISE IIP)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 201650:50 joint venture to develop ARISE Integrated Industrial Platform, including the Gabon Special Economic Zone (Nkok SEZ), with subsequent expansion into Benin, Togo, Côte d'Ivoire and Chad. AFC invested US$140 million in 2016 and US$150 million convertible debt in 2020.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank): Continental trade-focused multilateral financier headquartered in Cairo. Closely comparable to AFC on mandate (Africa-wide infrastructure/industrial finance), deal flow (co-financed Baomahun Gold, Heirs Energies acquisitions), and product suite (trade finance, syndicated loans, advisory).
• FMO (Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank): Netherlands-based DFI investing in private-sector development in emerging markets. Directly comparable as project co-financier (Cenpower IPP Ghana, Cabeolica Wind Cape Verde) with similar ticket sizes and sectoral focus in renewable energy and infrastructure across Africa.
• British International Investment (BII): UK's development finance institution (formerly CDC Group). Direct peer in mandate, ticket sizes, and instrument mix across African infrastructure, climate finance, and private equity; competes with AFC for African project equity and debt mandates.
• U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC): US development finance institution with mandate to mobilise private capital into developing countries. Direct peer and co-financier on the Lobito Atlantic Railway (US$553M commitment) and partner in critical-minerals strategies across Africa.
• African Development Bank (AfDB): Pan-African multilateral development bank and AFC's most direct peer. Both are AAA-region-rated continental DFIs financing African infrastructure; AfDB is a co-financing partner on the Lobito Railway (US$500M alongside AFC) and member of the Africa Green Industrialization Initiative with AFC.
• DEG (Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft): German DFI subsidiary of KfW Group financing private-sector investments in emerging markets. Closely comparable to AFC in ticket size, instrument mix (equity, mezzanine, loans, guarantees), and African infrastructure focus.
• Proparco: French DFI subsidiary of AFD Group focused on private-sector development in emerging economies. Highly comparable product suite (equity, mezzanine, senior debt, guarantees) and frequent co-financier with AFC in African renewables and infrastructure (Ras Ghareb Wind, Cape Verde).

Regional players

• Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA): South African state-owned DFI focused on southern Africa infrastructure. Direct peer on mandate; recently committed capital to AFC's ICRF (US$200M into Lobito financing, plus ICRF anchor); offers similar product suite but with a primarily southern-African geographic footprint.

Broad incumbents

• International Finance Corporation (IFC): World Bank Group's private-sector DFI, much larger balance sheet and AAA rating. Directly comparable in core activity (equity, mezzanine, senior debt, advisory, syndications in emerging markets) but operates globally; key AFC team alumni (Eluma Obibuaku, Wola Asase) come from IFC, signalling tight functional overlap.
• European Investment Bank (EIB): EU's long-tenor lending arm and AAA-rated multilateral. While EIB operates globally with a much wider scope, it is a direct backer of AFC Capital Partners' ICRF and a frequent co-financier in African infrastructure — making it both a peer (large-project lender) and a partner (fund anchor).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/africa_finance
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCvscvAXxpXHWifIV7HQeIJA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/africa-finance-corporation
• Facebookfacebook.com/1801998

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds26 records

Investors42 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments27 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Africa Finance Corporation