AFC raises $150 million from maiden sukuk to finance infrastructure projects

TThe Africa Finance Corporation announced last month that it raised $150 million from its maiden Sukuk issuance to finance infrastructure projects across the continent. The Lagos-based multilateral lender said the Sukuk issuance helps to diversify the organization’s funding sources as it seeks to promote economic growth in Africa.

“The core values of Islamic finance, the need to invest ethically in assets that have a tangible positive social impact, made a Sukuk issuance a natural choice for us,” said Andrew Alli, President and CEO of AFC.

The Sukuk has a three-year tenor and will mature on January 24th, 2020. The Sukuk issuance is the lender’s second foray into Islamic finance. In 2015, the corporation said it accepted a $50 million, 15-year funding line from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), to finance Islamic financecompliant projects located across the numerous African IDB member countries.