International investment grade multilateral finance institution Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has secured a $150-million, 15-year loan facility from Germany’s KfW Development Bank (KfW) to refinance core projects in power, telecommunications, transport and heavy industries across Africa.
Approved following a positive due diligence exercise and credit appraisal, the facility would assist AFC in tackling some of the long-term, large-scale infrastructure projects that were required across the continent.
“Africa’s infrastructure deficit is widely estimated to be approximately $90-billion every year for the next decade, with spending needed for new investments, as well as operations and maintenance of what is already there,” commented AFC president and CEO Andrew Alli.
Facilities such as these, which added valuable capital to AFC’s finance reserves, were deemed “invaluable” in making substantial progress with bridging the infrastructure gap and stimulating economic development on the continent.
“KfW is excited about Africa’s growth potential. To enable that growth and to build a sustainable future, countries on the continent will have to invest heavily in power, transport and other infrastructure sectors,” added KfW infrastructure division head Jan Martin Witte.