AFC admits Guinea, Togo into shareholding membership

Says countries stand to benefit from increased investment from AFC as shareholders

THE AFRICA FINANCE CORPO RATION (AFC) has announced the onboarding of the central banks of Guinea and Togolese Republic as its newest shareholders, a process that has cemented AFC’s pan-African representation.

The onboarding follows on the back of the corporation’s investment of approximately $300 million to spur employment opportunities and sustainable economic development from Guinea’s vast mineral resources, while it also led a 30 million euros investment in the Kekeli Efficient Power project in Togo, the country’s first gas-fired combined cycle power plant, which will generate enough power to meet 35 percent of Togo’s energy needs.

Louncény Nabe, governor, Central Bank of Guinea, in a statement said, “Africa Finance Corporation’s infrastructure investment has contributed enormously to our country’s economic development, and we look forward to enhanced engagement and partnership. This investment demonstrates our commitment and trust in AFC as a pan-African institution with a proven track record of delivering transformative infrastructure projects on the continent.”

He also pointed out some of the developments co-financed by the leading infrastructure solutions provider in Africa, to include the high-grade bauxite Alufer Mine in 2017, which marked one of the largest foreign investments in the West African country since the 2014 Ebola crisis, at $205 million.

Also, Sani Yaya, Togo’s finance minister, said AFC has been a critical development partner in supporting key sectors of the country’s economy including power, transport and logistics, adding that becoming a shareholder in AFC was a natural next step to further strengthen the partnership that exists between Togo and the corporation.

The AFC has also invested $150 million in creating value chains for Togo’s food processing, textiles, pharmaceuticals, automotive and recycling industries as co-developer of the recently inaugurated Plateforme Industrielle d’Adétikope (PIA) project with the ARISE Integrated Industrial Platform.

The finance minister also said that “through this first of its kind ecosystem project, expanding from raw material sourcing to manufacturing and exporting value-added products, the Togo Special Economic Zone is expected to generate $750 million in additional GDP, $1billion in boosted exports, and create 35,000 jobs in the country.”

Commenting on the latest development which has seen Togo and Guinea become latest shareholding members in the Finance Corporation,

Samaila Zubairu, chief executive officer of the AFC said of the additional membership of Guinea and Togo: “We are pleased to welcome the Republic of Guinea and the Togolese Republic as shareholders in Africa Finance Corporation. “In addition to current projects, we are expanding our footprint in both countries with an active pipeline of projects in natural resources, renewable energy, transport and logistics. These equity investments in AFC help facilitate our operations as we partner with African governments to deliver the critical infrastructure required for resilient economic recovery post-COVID,” Zubairu added.

For AFC, the president said, the new investments will strengthen the corporation’s funding leverage in the international capital markets, translating to increased investments in the countries and the rest of the continent. As shareholders, Togo and Guinea stand to benefit from increased investment from AFC along with a share of the corporation’s superior riskadjusted returns and competitive dividend payouts.