African Finance Corporation approves Kenya as 15th member country

22 Jun 2017
Financial Nigeria

Summary

Founded in 2007 with paid-in equity capital of $1.26 billion, the AFC has aims to address the continent’s infrastructure development needs while seeking a competitive return on capital for its shareholders.

CEO, African Finance Corporation, Andrew Alli

The African Finance Corporation has announced that Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy, has become its latest member country, according to a statement on Thursday.

The Lagos-based multi-lateral lender said Kenya is now its 15th member country and the third East African country after Rwanda and Uganda. Other member countries are: Nigeria, Cape Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra-Leone.

“I am very pleased to welcome Kenya to AFC,” said Andrew Alli, AFC’s CEO. “Kenya’s membership is a critical step to achieving our goal of developing high quality infrastructure across the whole of Africa and driving positive economic growth on the continent.”

Kenya is one of the largest economies on the continent and AFC said it is perfectly placed to help improve the quality of the country’s infrastructure, enabling it to capitalize on its strategic position in East Africa and strong growth prospects.

AFC said it already has a large presence in Kenya as Dye & Blair Investment Bank, a Kenyan investment banking firm, is a founding shareholder of the Corporation. Through a joint venture with Harith General Partners, AFC said it has a vested interest in Lake Turkana Wind Farm, which provides Kenya with approximately 15 percent of its installed energy capacity.

Furthermore, AFC has also invested $50 million in ARM Cement, a Nairobi-based cement company. In 2015, AFC said it provided a $25 million loan to Kenya Power and Lightening Company for the rehabilitation and expansion of the country’s power transmission and distribution network.

“By improving the infrastructure of regional hubs such as Kenya it is our hope to facilitate closer intraregional trade links, a milestone that can only be achieved if the adequate transport, telecommunications networks and power supply are in place,” Alli said.

Founded in 2007 with paid-in equity capital of $1.26 billion, the AFC has aims to address the continent’s infrastructure development needs while seeking a competitive return on capital for its shareholders.

AFC’s shareholders include various African financial institutions (47.6 percent), the Central Bank of Nigeria (42.5 percent), and several industrial and corporate shareholders (9.8 percent). AFC said it has so far invested approximately $4 billion in projects across 28 countries.


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