The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has launched a $2 billion facility to support recovery and resilience in Africa.
Making the announcement at the AFC Live Infrastructure Solutions Summit in Abuja at the weekend, the Corporation said it is also committed to funding up to 50 per cent of the new African economic resilience facility and mobilising the balance through its network of international partners and investors.
The facility will be disbursed through selected commercial, regional development and central banks in various African countries, providing them with the much-needed hard foreign exchange liquidity to finance trade and other economic activities in their jurisdictions.
The institutions will be able to leverage AFC’s proven access to global funding to receive financing at competitive rates while applications for the facility will open this month through its website.
AFC’s Head, Treasury and Financial Institutions, Banji Fehintola, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic set back Africa’s economic growth trajectory and widened the trade financing gap, while the Russia-Ukraine conflict has added a further set of challenges negatively impacting growth prospects across the continent.
“We are determined to play a leading role in helping the continent’s recovery and resilience, not only through the work we do in bridging Africa’s infrastructure gap but also through targeted interventions such as this $2billion Economic Resilience Facility.”
Through the funding intervention, AFC will accelerate its developmental impact in Africa, helping to drive the continent to a new phase of growth that is focused on maximum resource value capture and domestic job creation.
In his address, the AFC Board Chairman and Deputy Governor (Economic Policy) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Kingsley Obiora, said that energy and infrastructure were highly important to the growth of the continent.
“Climate Change demands greater robustness in our buildings and infrastructure and as energy transition requires rethinking of power supplies, transportation and living.
“The key is unlocking new sources of funding both international and domestic. Be assured such capital is available. It is locked in pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds and mutual funds. We are limited only by our ability to reduce the risk for investors and provide stable, steady and competitive returns,” he said.
Also speaking at a panel session, the Chairman of Transcorp Group, Tony Elumelu, called on the government to address insecurity in the Niger Delta amid the rising oil theft. He said insecurity was a disincentive for foreign direct investment (FDI).
