Established in 2007, the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) is a private sector-led investment bank and development finance institution created to help mobilize and channel required capital towards driving Africa’s economic development.

AFC’s mission is to address Africa’s development needs in a profitable way, creating benefits for both investors and societies in the region.

There is an estimated $130 billion of investment opportunities across Africa over the next five years through which AFC can help drive Africa’s economic development.

AFC has a number of advantages which allow it to participate in this scenario. These include a large (US$1 billion) capital base to support early and intermediate stage projects; access to cheap long-term funds through an anticipated investment grade rating; and deep sector knowledge from industry experts. In addition, as a hybrid investment bank and international development finance institution, AFC enjoys privileged access to policy makers in Africa. AFC uses these advantages to help address one of the biggest impediments to the successful implementation of many projects on the continent; namely the lack of anchor risk-capital combined with well packaged investment structures. When done, this attracts complimentary sources of finance, both public and private to create truly bankable projects out of what are currently just potential projects.

AFC has developed key guiding corporate governance principles benchmarked against global investment banking institutions and has a tight and well controlled cost base. It has a lean organisational structure designed along product, industry and advisory business units and functions.

AFC’s business development process is founded upon a system of proactively creating, acquiring and managing infrastructural, industrial and financial assets. The AFC’s business execution focuses on providing anchor risk capital, playing a catalytic role, providing advisory services and forging partnerships.

AFC has recruited world class capabilities by offering globally competitive market and incentive-based compensation. AFC has succeeded in attracting professionals and top management drawn from the private sector, investment banks and multilateral development finance institutions.

The AFC has been built around four core pillars:

- Fostering private sector solutions to Africa’s development
- Driving Africa’s competitiveness and industrialization
- Catalyzing private sector participation in Africa’s infrastructure
- Facilitating Africa’s private sector access to capital markets