The OPEC Fund provides a $50 million loan to Africa Finance Corporation to support African infrastructure projects. The aim is to relieve the states engaged in emergency spending in the face of the health crisis.
The OPEC Fund for International Development and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) signed a loan agreement amounting to $50 million. This loan is intended to promote the financing and construction of infrastructure projects necessary for the post-Covid-19 recovery of Africa. This is the first direct financial cooperation between these two institutions.
This ten-year loan to AFC will help reduce Africa’s infrastructure financing gap. It will also facilitate increased capital flows to Africa. In addition, this loan will contribute to the recovery efforts of African economies, allowing governments to release public funds to meet urgent financing needs related to the pandemic.
Its CEO, Samaila Zubairu, said AFC has joined forces with development partners around the world to find ways to work together to mobilize the funds needed to recover Africa from the pandemic.
On the other hand, it seems necessary to act together in order to optimize the deployment of these funds. This loan is in line with AFC’s efforts to support the financing of infrastructure, from energy to transport to trade, essential to Africa’s development.
In addition, AFC is working to put Africa back on the path of sustainable growth and sustainable development. “We are committed to working with the OPEC Fund and other partners, which are essential catalysts for the development of critical infrastructure in Africa,” concludes Samaila Zubairu.
On behalf of the OPEC Fund of which he is the Director General, Abdulhamid Alkhalifa also considers that “Africa has urgent financing needs for its infrastructure, and these have become even more pronounced since the onset of the pandemic”. Which has slowed down economic growth and investment across the continent.
A lasting and productive link!
“Through our support to AFC, we will help provide sustainable financing for infrastructure projects, which will improve connectivity, transport, logistics, trade and job creation in Africa,” Judge Abdulhamid Alkhalifa.
Who hopes that the partnership with AFC will be “sustainable and productive”, because “it is by working with experienced regional partners that we are able to amplify our impact on development.”
AFC is a development finance institution with 28 member countries. It was created to provide financing and offer solutions initiated by the private sector in the areas of infrastructure, natural resources and industrial projects across Africa. The OPEC Fund signed a cooperation agreement with AFC in 2017 and this loan marked the start of their collaboration on the ground.
Earlier this year, AFC received support from the US international development finance agency. The DFC had granted him a loan of $250 million. The African institution is thus strengthened in its capacity to invest in infrastructure projects. It is also in a better position to broaden its investor base.
For example, its subsidiary Arise IS, the leading supplier of infrastructure in Africa, will put its expertise in the construction of the road axis of some 700 km connecting the capital of Togo, Lomé, to Cinkassé, a locality close to the border with Burkina Faso.
AFC’s investment policy is based on in-depth knowledge of the sector and emphasizes financial and technical advice, project structuring and development, and venture capital. The strategy aims to meet the development needs of infrastructure and ensure sustainable economic growth in Africa. To date, AFC has invested more than $8.4 billion in 35 African countries.
Reference: https://www.africafc.org/
