Keypoints:
- Africa50 targets projects worth at least $20bn
- Power generation and transmission top priorities
- Asset recycling could reshape infrastructure funding
AFRICA50 plans to more than double the combined value of infrastructure projects it backs to at least $20bn over the next five years, signalling a major expansion as African governments search for new ways to finance power, transport and other critical infrastructure.
The target points to a wider shift in African infrastructure finance. With public finances under pressure and development funding becoming less predictable, governments are increasingly looking to public-private partnerships, institutional investors and asset-recycling models to keep major projects moving.
Africa50 aims for rapid scale-up
The Casablanca-headquartered pan-African infrastructure investment platform has co-invested in 36 projects across power, transport, logistics, digital infrastructure and healthcare, with a combined value of about $9bn.
Chief operating officer Tshepidi Moremong said Africa50 had invested about $500m of its own equity in those projects. That distinction matters: the new $20bn target refers to the overall value of projects Africa50 helps finance, not $20bn of capital from the institution itself.
Moremong told Reuters that Africa50 wants to at least double, and potentially triple, the value of the projects in which it participates over the coming years.
The expansion would deepen Africa50’s role as a catalyst bringing governments, development finance institutions and commercial investors together around large infrastructure projects.
Power grids move up the agenda
Electricity is expected to remain one of Africa50’s biggest priorities, particularly generation and transmission infrastructure where investment shortages continue to constrain businesses and households.
Transmission is becoming especially important as countries add new generation capacity but struggle with grids that cannot always move electricity efficiently from power plants to industrial centres and consumers.
In Kenya, Africa50 and India’s PowerGrid signed an agreement with the government in December to develop two high-voltage transmission projects worth $311m through a public-private partnership.
The deal illustrates the model Africa50 wants to expand: mobilising private and institutional capital for infrastructure that governments may struggle to fund entirely from public budgets.
Africa Briefing has previously detailed Kenya’s $311m transmission partnership with Africa50 and PowerGrid, covering the design, financing, construction and operation of the new electricity infrastructure.
Africa50 has also backed power generation projects in Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon and Madagascar, alongside digital infrastructure in Rwanda and regional healthcare businesses.
Financing gap drives urgency
The push comes against a difficult financing backdrop. The AfDB estimates that Africa needs $130bn–$170bn a year for infrastructure, leaving an annual financing gap of $68bn–$108bn.
At the same time, many governments face elevated debt burdens, high borrowing costs and weaker development-finance flows, increasing pressure to attract long-term private capital.
Yet Africa is not short of savings. Africa Briefing reported that the continent holds more than $2tn in non-bank domestic capital, although weak financial intermediation and limited bankable project pipelines prevent much of it from reaching infrastructure and industry.
That makes institutions capable of structuring investable projects increasingly important.
Governments look to recycle assets
Africa50 is also expanding an asset-recycling model that could appeal to cash-constrained governments.
Under the approach, existing public infrastructure can be concessioned to an investor or operator, generating upfront payments for governments while the asset continues to produce revenue for maintenance, upgrades and investment returns.
Africa50 has already applied the model to the Senegambia Bridge linking Senegal and The Gambia. It operates the bridge and collects tolls while taking responsibility for maintenance and improvements, with payments made to the government.
Moremong said the asset-recycling business could eventually account for between one-fifth and one-quarter of Africa50’s portfolio.
For governments seeking infrastructure investment without taking on equivalent amounts of new sovereign debt, the model offers a way to unlock capital from assets they already own.
Private capital takes bigger role
Across Africa, governments and development institutions are increasingly looking to combine public assets, private investment, institutional savings and development capital to finance infrastructure.
That shift is also visible in wider efforts to mobilise African savings. African leaders are seeking to unlock an estimated $2.5tn domestic capital pool for transport corridors, energy systems and other cross-border infrastructure.
Africa50’s $20bn ambition will therefore test more than the institution’s ability to expand its portfolio. It will also test whether African-led financing structures can turn available capital into functioning grids, roads, digital networks and transport links at the pace the continent requires.
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