Funding to unlock private capital for renewable energy, transport, digital projects across Africa…
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $100 million loan to the Emerging Africa and Asia Infrastructure Fund (EAAIF), a move aimed at accelerating sustainable infrastructure growth across the continent.
Details of the approval were published on the Bank’s website on Friday. According to the AfDB, the funding package is designed to mobilise private investment and support transformative projects in renewable energy, transport systems, digital connectivity and other sectors considered vital to Africa’s long-term development.
The facility, endorsed by AfDB’s Board of Directors, forms part of the Bank’s wider plan to narrow Africa’s multibillion-dollar infrastructure financing gap and stimulate resilient, inclusive economic expansion.
The $100 million loan also contributes to EAAIF’s ongoing debt-raising initiative, under which the fund is seeking $300 million in long-term capital in 2025. EAAIF plans to deploy more than $850 million across Africa and Asia by 2027. However, the AfDB’s statement did not disclose the specific countries where the projects will be executed.
Officials React
Mike Salawou, Director of AfDB’s Infrastructure and Urban Development Department, said the partnership is central to the continent’s development ambitions.
“Partnering with the Emerging Africa and Asia Infrastructure Fund allows us to unlock long-term financing for critical projects that power economies, create jobs, and improve lives across Africa,” he said. “It also helps close the continent’s infrastructure financing gap by attracting private capital to high-impact projects in emerging and frontier markets.”
Sumit Kanodia, Director at Ninety One, the investment firm managing EAAIF described the new funding as essential to sustaining the Fund’s mission.
“We are delighted to deepen our partnership with the African Development Bank,” Kanodia said. “This loan will enable us to finance more renewable energy, digital, and transport projects that drive inclusive growth, create jobs, and build climate resilience in the region.”
EAAIF operates under the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) and has become a major platform for channeling private capital into frontier-market infrastructure. The AfDB noted that this new facility represents its fourth loan to the Fund.
Background
In September, AfDB approved a $25 million equity investment in The Currency Exchange Fund (TCX) to expand access to local currency financing in African markets. Since 2007, TCX has hedged more than $17 billion in notional exposure, including over $4 billion across 31 African countries.
Earlier in August, the Bank also unveiled a $5.5 billion financing framework designed to fast-track sustainable growth and infrastructure investments across the continent, leveraging the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA) private sector investment finance as a catalyst.
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