The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has closed a fresh 100 million United States dollar loan facility from the Export-Import Bank of India, signed on the sidelines of the corporation’s Investor Day in London on April 20, 2026, to finance critical infrastructure and industrial projects across the continent.
The five-year facility deepens AFC’s long-standing partnership with the Indian lender and is intended to accelerate the development of infrastructure and industrial assets across Africa. In an economic environment marked by global market volatility, the transaction is strategically significant because it gives AFC access to alternative liquidity beyond traditional capital markets while extending its funding maturity profile.
Banji Fehintola, AFC Executive Board Member and Head of Financial Services, described the deal as a milestone for the institution’s financing strategy. “Access to diversified and long-term capital is critical to delivering transformative projects on the continent, and AFC remains at the forefront, leveraging strategic collaborations with leading institutions to scale our impact and accelerate Africa’s industrialisation,” he said.
The transaction builds on a successful 100 million dollar financing completed in 2021, reinforcing AFC’s commitment to diversifying its funding base while deepening strategic engagements with key Asian financial partners.
India’s Exim Bank, established in 1982, plays a key role in financing and coordinating India’s foreign trade operations. As of November 2019, investments from Asian countries including China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan within AFC had already totalled approximately 1.2 billion dollars, reflecting the depth of Asian financial interest in the continent’s infrastructure market.
The deal arrives at a time when Africa’s infrastructure financing deficit remains vast. The African Development Bank has estimated that the continent requires between 130 billion and 170 billion dollars annually for infrastructure, with a financing shortfall of up to 108 billion dollars each year, a gap that institutions like AFC are positioned to help narrow by channelling international capital into bankable projects.
Analysts say the transaction reflects AFC’s deliberate strategy to reduce its reliance on Eurobond markets and other conventional funding sources that have become more expensive in a high-interest-rate environment, with medium-term financing from export credit institutions better suited to long-gestation infrastructure projects that require patient capital.
Established in 2007 as a catalyst for pragmatic infrastructure investment, AFC’s portfolio spans energy, transportation corridors, telecommunications, and industrial assets aimed at boosting regional integration and economic resilience across the continent.
