Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the continent’s leading infrastructure solutions provider, announces Burundi and São Tomé & Príncipe as its newest member countries, expanding its community of sovereigns to 42 African nations.
Despite significant macroeconomic headwinds, AFC has doubled its membership in the last five years, strengthening its mandate to resolve regional challenges and catalyse private sector-led infrastructure development across Africa, a statement issued here stated.
The onboarding of Burundi expands AFC’s footprint in East Africa following the recent memberships by South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia and legacy memberships by Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Djibouti, and Eritrea, it said.
The Corporation is now applying its experience in infrastructure development and financing to support Burundi’s National Development Plan to modernise and diversify the land-locked economy, including growth-enhancing sectors such as mining, transportation, logistics, and energy.
Burundi’s Minister of Finance, Budget, and Economic Planning, Audace Niyonzima, said, “I am delighted that Burundi has joined the membership of AFC. This decision is not only a milestone for our country but also an opportunity for us to foster sustainable economic growth and develop our infrastructure leveraging AFC’s vast network and reach across the continent.”
The addition of São Tomé and Príncipe further diversifies AFC’s reach in Portuguese-speaking Lusophone countries. The West African twin island joins AFC’s existing Lusophone members, including Angola, Guinea Bissau, and Cape Verde.
The Corporation plans to support the country’s target of generating half of all renewable electricity by 2030. AFC also intends to support the nation’s quest to develop sustainable and resilient transport infrastructure to withstand climate change impacts.
“We look forward to furthering our close collaboration with both nations’ governments to help advance their economic development and industrialization. I am confident that working together, we will quickly identify projects that will prove transformative in driving import substitution, value addition, job creation, and beneficiation of the abundant natural wealth of both nations,” Samaila Zubairu, President & CEO of AFC, said.