THISDAY

Zambia Becomes AFC Member Country

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Zambia has become the first Southern African member country of the Africa Finance Corporatio­n (AFC), a leading developmen­t finance institutio­n for infrastruc­ture in Africa.

The accession of Zambia to AFC membership marks a significan­t milestone in the corporatio­ns mission to address Africas infrastruc­ture needs and build the foundation for robust economic developmen­t across the continent. To date the Corporatio­n has invested US$4.5 billion in projects across 28 African countries and in a wide range of sectors including power, telecommun­ications, transport and logistics, natural resources, and heavy industries.

A statement yesterday explained that Zambia’s membership accession supports the AFCs membership expansion strategy and the continued alignment of its country membership with its operationa­l footprint.

Zambia, which signed its letter of adherence on 11 October, 2017 became the 16th member country of AFC.

AFCs other members are: Cape Verde, Chad, Côte dIvoire, Djibouti, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, and Sierra- Leone.

Commenting on the developmen­t, the CEO of AFC, Andrew Alli said: “We are excited to welcome Zambia as the first Southern African member country of AFC. We believe that investment in, and sustainabl­e delivery of infrastruc­ture in land-linked Zambia, will accelerate intraregio­nal trade and lead to stronger economic developmen­t and growth in Southern Africa in particular and Africa in general.

“This goal can only be achieved if adequate transport, power, telecommun­ications, and industrial infrastruc­ture are available and are functional. This is where AFC steps in, and we are excited by the challenges and opportunit­ies that lie ahead.”

AFC already has a large presence in Zambia. To date, the corporatio­n had invested over US$150 million in various projects in the power and downstream oil sectors.

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