By 
At Africa50, our position is clear. We breathe and live infrastructure investments in Africa. They are transformative, impactful, and profitable. And once you get the formula right, they are replicable and scalable.
The year 2024 was a coming of age for our young institution. After seven years of operation we have achieved significant successes; but these are modest compared to the magnitude of the continent’s infrastructure gap. We have made investments in infrastructure that have brought real benefits to people and economies on the continent, while delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns.
Bold and inventive solutions
Africa’s infrastructure needs are huge, and the continent needs bold and inventive solutions to bridge the gap, especially as climate change accelerates and our population increases. Africa50, set up by African countries in response to the African Union’s call for an innovative instrument to tackle the infrastructure deficit, is one such solution.
Over the last seven years of operation we have invested in 27 projects across 29 countries, with an aggregated value of over $8bn delivering tangible impact. These projects cut across energy, transport and logistics, information and communications technology, fintech, healthcare, and education. This has been made possible in large part by the increasing number of our country shareholders who trust us to carry out the infrastructure development mandate they have given us.
Today we have 32 African countries, the African Development Bank, and two African central banks as our shareholders. With their support we have mobilised over $1.1bn in capital commitments and catalysed an additional $4.4bn in private sector funding for our projects. This is also the result of our focus on project development, a critical step in building a quality pipeline of investible infrastructure projects, which are currently insufficiently resourced in Africa.
Championing Africa’s energy transition goals
The continent’s energy transition is critical, and Africa50 is playing an important role in mobilising the funding needed for a just transition, through the Alliance for Green Infrastructure Africa (AGIA), led by the African Development Bank and supported by the African Union. At COP28, global and African partners pledged $175m to AGIA.
Our intent for AGIA is to develop a one-stop shop for the entire project lifecycle, from project preparation and development to long-term project financing and de-risking. Our goal is to raise $500m in early-stage project preparation, AGIA aims to catalyse $10bn in green infrastructure investment.
Fuelling Africa’s infrastructure growth with innovation
We also take pride in the innovative approaches that we have employed to raise financing for African infrastructure. In December 2023, through our Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, we achieved a $222.5m first close from 16 African institutional investors and one global investor – a historic first on the continent. This groundbreaking achievement paves the way for leveraging some of the $2.3 trillion in funds under management in Africa to drive much-needed infrastructure investing. This fund is indicative not only of our commitment, but of what is possible if we work together as Africans, in partnership with non-African institutions to pursue African solutions for African problems.
Another landmark transaction was the asset recycling deal we concluded with the government of The Gambia in 2024 in respect of the Senegambia Bridge. Asset recycling allows governments to free up public funds for other projects by concessioning infrastructure assets to private investors for a set period of time. This model is especially beneficial for governments with limited fiscal headroom, enabling them to redirect resources toward other key development priorities.
Meanwhile we will proceed to enhance this asset with new features such as 24-hour surveillance, advanced traffic management systems, and overload control centres. Apart from upgrading existing facilities, new ones will be constructed to maximise regional trade under the programme, fostering long-term economic growth for The Gambia.
The project will generate 235 direct jobs – 175 during construction and an additional 60 permanent positions for operational staff once the upgrades are completed. Above all, it will be a tremendous boost to efficient movement of goods and people within the West African sub-region. We are excited by the opportunity to bring this transformative project to life, unlocking economic potential and fostering regional growth.
Lighting up the continent
Infrastructure is as much about people as it is about projects. Today, there are 680m people in Africa who don’t have access to electricity; this is a reason why power is one of our priority sectors. It is essential for driving industrialisation across Africa to create jobs and build sustainable economic opportunities for our people. We believe that the future of the power sector in Africa should see greater private sector participation in transmission infrastructure. As Africa50 we are pioneering the development of the Kenya Transmission independent power transmission (IPT) scheme, which will see the development, financing, and construction of the 400 kV Lessos – Loosuk and 220 kV Kisumu – Musaga transmission lines under a public-private partnership framework.
Africa50 is also becoming the partner of choice for the development of renewable projects in Africa. At the Africa Investment Forum Market Days in Rabat, Morocco this year, we signed a landmark agreement with the International Solar Alliance, under which we will become the managers and implementers of the Africa Solar Facility (ASF).
The $200m facility seeks to provide tailored and cost-effective financing solutions designed to unlock and mobilise investments in distributed renewable energy projects across Africa. Despite their critical role in accelerating clean energy access for millions, these projects have historically been underserved due to small ticket sizes and high perceived risks. Through the ASF we can bridge this gap by driving investments and harnessing the full potential of distributed renewable energy solutions, bringing us closer to a sustainable and energy-secure future for Africa.
Strategic partnerships for speed and scale
These projects merely exemplify the impact of the investments and initiatives that are happening across the continent. With so much left to do, what is important is that they demonstrate what is possible for our continent. Africa is eminently bankable and with the right preparation, there are no end of projects with the potential to change lives, grow economies and make a decent return for investors.
There is an undeniable need for urgency in meeting the continent’s infrastructure goals. In my discussions with African leaders, it has been made clear that they are deeply committed to delivering on projects. They feel this urgency. We must capitalise on this sense of urgency to transform the continent through infrastructure development.
Africa50 proves that through strategic partnerships we can move with speed without sacrificing quality. What is needed now is for us to work even more closely together – with the private sector, DFIs, governments and African institutional investors – to deliver at scale without slowing down project implementation. With greater agility, we can achieve these goals.
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