President of Ghana, H.E. John Dramani Mahama (5th left) watches on as Mr. Samaila Zubairu, President & Chief Executive Officer of Africa Finance Corporation and Outgoing Chairman of AAMFI (seated, left) and H.E. Mrs. Francisca Tatchouop Belobe, Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals at the African Union Commission (seated, right) sign the AIFF agreement.. CREDIT: afreximbank.com
African Heads of State and Government formally launched the Africa Infrastructure Financing Facility, a continent-led platform designed to accelerate the preparation and financing of priority cross-border infrastructure projects aligned with Agenda 2063.
The launch took place during the Third Presidential High-Level Dialogue of the Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions, held on the sidelines of the 39th African Union Summit under the theme ‘Strengthening Africa’s Financial Architecture to Finance Agenda 2063’.
The President of the Republic of Ghana, John Mahama, African Union Champion on AU Financial Institutions, said the continent has domestic capital pools exceeding $2.5tn.
“The challenge is not the availability of capital but how intentionally we deploy it into infrastructure, industrialisation, and job creation to realise Agenda 2063 and the African Continental Free Trade Area,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
Agenda 2063 faces financing constraints due to fragmented capital markets, high cost-of-capital premiums, limited long-term funding, and reliance on external financial systems that do not fully reflect Africa’s development realities. Against this backdrop, African leaders stressed the need to strengthen existing African multilateral financial institutions while fast-tracking the operationalisation of African Union financial institutions.
The Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals at the African Union Commission, Francisca Belobe, said, “The launch of the AIFF is a powerful demonstration of what can be achieved when political will and institutional coordination converge. We are confident this facility will help close Africa’s infrastructure financing gap, estimated at around $221 bn annually from 2023 to 2030.”
The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Africa Finance Corporation and Outgoing Chairman of AAMFI, Samaila Zubairu, said coordinated African capital deployment is essential.
“Our institutions, with over $70bn in balance sheets, must act collectively to close Africa’s trade, investment, and development financing gaps. Scale, alignment, and disciplined capital mobilisation are critical for transformative infrastructure,” he added.
The President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, Dr George Elombi, highlighted the persistent challenge of moving projects from political approval to financial execution.
“Too many projects stall not because they lack relevance, but because they are insufficiently prepared or misaligned with long-term capital requirements. The AIFF provides a coordinated system to mobilise capital at scale,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Africa Reinsurance Corporation and Incoming Chair of AAMFI, Dr Corneille Karekezi, said, “Africa’s development finance must be anchored in collaboration and innovation. By sharing risk, strengthening institutions, and mobilising domestic and private capital, we can deliver transformative infrastructure and industrial growth across the continent.”
The AIFF, established under a Cooperation Framework Agreement between AUDA-NEPAD and AAMFI, provides a structured mechanism to accelerate project preparation and facilitate indicative engagement on financing priority infrastructure. In a related milestone, the Dialogue concluded with the ceremonial deposit of the Instrument of Ratification of the Protocol and Statutes of the African Monetary Fund by the Republic of Cameroon, signalling progress towards a coordinated continental financial architecture.
