This week, Africa Finance Corporation, the continent’s leading infrastructure solutions provider, announced Ethiopia as its 40th member state. It is a significant milestone in its journey to ensure a pragmatic and coordinated approach to infrastructure development and value addition.
With the addition of Africa’s second most populous nation, with 115 million people, AFC now has three-quarters of African countries as members. Ethiopia was the seventh country to join last year, following Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Somalia, South Sudan, and Tunisia.
Ethiopia’s admission to the AFC comes when the country’s economy is gaining steam. AFC has already identified a US$300 million pipeline of projects to capitalize on Ethiopia’s metal and mineral exports and create jobs in catalytic sectors such as power, renewable energy, logistics, telecommunications, and mining, advancing Ethiopia’s position as one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies.
Ethiopian Finance Minister, Ahmed Shide stated:
“The experience, knowledge and capital represented by Africa Finance Corporation will be essential to building sustainable infrastructure at scale to catalyse growth and jobs, aligned with our economic reform agenda and broader development goals.”
In 2009, one of AFC’s first projects focused on developing transportation in Ethiopia by co-financing the acquisition of five new Boeing 777-260LR aircraft for Ethiopian Airlines. The national carrier’s US$24 million investment as part of a larger syndicated facility enabled it to expand its operations regionally and internationally rapidly, and it is now Africa’s largest airline.
Over the last 15 years, transportation has been critical to driving one of the continent’s fastest economic growth rates. According to the IMF, Ethiopia’s economy will grow 5.3% in 2023.
“We welcome Ethiopia as our 40th member state, a significant milestone for AFC as it underscores our commitment to rapidly industrialize in every corner of the continent by delivering critical infrastructure projects that shift focus away from extraction towards value capture, value retention and job creation. We are committed to working closely with the Ethiopian government and stakeholders to develop and finance integrated ecosystem projects that support the country’s vision for rapid and sustainable economic growth.” Samaila Zubairu, President and CEO of the AFC, stated.
Ethiopia facilitates AFC’s investment process as a member country by granting privileges and diplomatic immunities consistent with the Corporation’s multilateral status. This lowers the cost of debt financing, improves project bankability, and enables AFC to mobilize much-needed global capital for Africa’s economic development.
AFC is dedicated to elevating Africa’s pivotal role as the most important engine of global growth. The Corporation has invested US$11.5 billion in transformative infrastructure projects across Africa and was recently named “DFI of the Year-Europe & Africa” by IJGlobal, a leading industry publication for the energy and infrastructure markets.
