Our Country Relations team maintains strong relationships with African states, the business community, and international organisations, while also reinforcing our multilateral status.
Along with managing government relations affairs for AFC, the Country Relations department also drives equity mobilisation with the aim of broadening our shareholder base and maintaining strategic partnerships geared towards public and private sectors to achieve the AFC mandate.
The department’s core strategy is anchored on creating an operating framework that positions AFC as a catalyst for infrastructure development across Africa. As an effective cross-department enabler, Country Relations also acts as an origination engine for our organisation.
AFC has two levels of Membership:
A prospective Member Country/State may join the AFC by signing the Instrument of Adherence and ratifying its Constitutive Instruments, namely the AFC Establishment Agreement through its cognitive/constituent authority.
A prospective Member Country/State may join the AFC by signing the Instrument of Adherence and ratifying its Constitutive Instruments, namely the AFC Establishment Agreement through its cognitive/constituent authority.
Member Countries may elect to make financial commitment/investment and become shareholders through their designated entities (e.g. Central Banks, Ministry of Finance, Sovereign Wealth Funds and State Pension Funds or development banks) at any time convenient to the member country.
Member Countries may elect to make financial commitment/investment and become shareholders through their designated entities (e.g., Central Banks, Ministry of Finance, Sovereign Wealth Funds and State Pension Funds or development banks) at any time convenient to the member country regional or sub regional development financial institutions are also eligible to subscribe in AFC’s capital.
Membership and subscription to AFC shares deepens the relationship and reinforces the mutual support that is critical between African multilateral financial institutions and African sovereigns. To develop Africa and meet its considerable infrastructure, trade, and industrial financing needs and to enhance its export earnings and employment creation, an active collaboration and alignment of financial interests is advisable between related stakeholders.
As a world-class multilateral financial institution with the goal of bringing the world to Africa, AFC welcomes shareholding from non-regional institutional investors looking to have African infrastructure as an asset class.
Additional information on investing in AFC, including capital subscription options, is available upon receipt by AFC of an expression of interest to invest.
Ratification of AFC Membership
Member countries, upon acceding to membership, are required to ratify AFC’s Constitutive Instruments in line with their national laws, essentially to domesticate the AFC Treaty into local law, in accordance with the requirements of the country’s internal protocols.
Membership of AFC is open to all African states. We currently have forty three (43) member states:
Sovereign states, upon accession to membership, grant AFC preferred creditor status and other standard immunities and privileges relevant for multilateral institutions.
Sovereign states, upon accession to membership, grant AFC preferred creditor status and other standard immunities and privileges relevant for multilateral institutions.
In some cases, this obviates the need for political risk insurance to cover country risk on project loans. Given that project risk insurance is usually an additional cost to project loans, country membership and ratification of such membership may have the likely effect of reducing the average cost of debt financing for projects, therefore improving the bankability of projects in member countries.
AFC member countries benefit from a significant amount of investment origination and advisory services.
AFC member countries benefit from a significant amount of investment origination and advisory services.
We focus strongly on developing an understanding of the National Developmental Agenda of the Governments of member countries. Our advisory and project development teams work closely with public and private sector partners to develop project financing opportunities across our focus sectors. In addition, the Preferred Creditor Status accorded to AFC by member countries provide an immense incentive for AFC to invest in the country. AFC can catalyze funding on the back of (i) our international status in countries and (ii) strong relationships with credible international and regional partners. We are also able to syndicate financing for projects in member countries, raising almost 4-6 times our own commitment in most cases.
Member Countries have preferred access to AFC’s (i) US$5MM Public Sector Advisory Facility, and (ii) Project Development Facility, both designed to advancing projects to bankable stages and increase the number of projects attaining financial close in Africa.
Member Countries have preferred access to AFC’s (i) US$5MM Public Sector Advisory Facility, and (ii) Project Development Facility, both designed to advancing projects to bankable stages and increase the number of projects attaining financial close in Africa.
We have also established a Public Sector Advisory Facility wherein about US$5MM of its balance sheet has been committed to assisting Public Sector Institutions in member countries to advance projects which are at ideation stages. The envisaged ticket size per transaction/concept will range from US$200,000 to US$250,000 and the funds from the facility will primarily be used to provide liquidity for (i) the initial business plan and preliminary feasibility studies, (ii) early environmental scoping and impact assessment studies, (iii) preliminary financial modelling (iv) project development schedules/activities and (v) regulatory framework scoping.
AFC launched its Project Development (PD) Facility in 2012 with the purpose of providing early-stage investments in infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Facility’s objective is to (i) increase the pipeline of bankable projects on the continent and (ii) support projects across a wider range of agreed sectors (e.g., Power, Infrastructure, Transport Infrastructure, Natural Resources, Heavy Industries and Telecommunications). AFC’s commitment is on average up to US$15MM.
