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Africa50 (www.Africa50.com), the investment platform established by African governments and the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org), said on Wednesday it has surpassed $1.4 billion in managed assets, marking an extraordinary transformation from one staff member to a continental powerhouse driving Africa’s infrastructure revolution.
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The disclosure was made at the General Shareholders Meeting of the platform in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, attended by the country’s President, Daniel Chapo, President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, and numerous dignitaries and representatives of development partners.
President Chapo highlighted the shared vision that led the country to join Africa50 in 2024. “Africa50 is a key partner to help us implement this vision [to become a reference country in logistics and power,” he said. “We are transforming ideas into projects to provide employment for the youth and more revenues for the government to invest in economic, social, and sustainable development.”
He commended the leadership of Dr Adesina, who is also Chairman of the Board of Africa50, and said: “Africa50 symbolises the new Africa; an Africa that depends on itself, promotes cooperation between Africans and builds shared prosperity.”
From humble beginnings to continental clout
Dr Adesina told the gathering that the total value of Africa50’s portfolio companies now exceeds $8 billion, underscoring the platform’s pivotal role in addressing Africa’s $170 billion annual infrastructure financing gap.
“Within eight years, Africa50 has become a leader on infrastructure financing in Africa, demonstrating creativity and innovation that transforms how we approach continental development,” the Bank President said. “From just one staff member when we started, Africa50 now employs 100 exceptional professionals and serves 37 shareholders across 33 countries and four institutions.”
The platform’s remarkable growth is reflected in its Africa Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, which successfully mobilized $275 million from over 20 African institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and insurance companies. This, the Africa50 Chairman said, represents the most substantial institutional investor confidence ever in Africa’s infrastructure opportunities.
Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa50, said, “The truth is this: the solutions to Africa’s infrastructure gap are already before us. Africa can and must lead the efforts to close the infrastructure gap in our continent, working with our non-African partners. Africa50 was built for moments like these: We are agile. We are responsive. We are focused on achieving results with speed and at scale.”
The 2025 General Shareholders Meeting also provided Africa50 an opportunity to formalize its growing influence through two strategic Memorandums of Understanding:
- MOU with Electricidade de Mozambique for the development of three transmission lines under an Independent Power Transmission (IPT) framework. This will help support the government’s ambition to achieve universal electricity access by 2030 and become a significant exporter of power across the Southern African Development Community.
- MOU with the Ministry of Communications and Digital Transformation, to build a new data centre facility in Maputo and modernize the existing one.
Africa50 also sealed two significant pan-African deals, including the first close of the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA), an initiative envisioned by Dr. Akinwumi Adesina. The AGIA deal anchors the first close of $115 million for Africa’s leading green infrastructure initiative.
In addition, it signed a framework agreement with the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) Secretariat for the development and financing of trade-enabling infrastructure to boost intra-African trade.
African Development Bank and Africa50 footprints in Mozambique
Adesina said the investments by Africa50 complement broader support from the African Development Bank, that has delivered $1.6 billion to Mozambique over the past decade, representing 41% of total Bank financing in the 48 years since the Bank began financing operations in the country.
The investment includes $400 million in senior debt financing for the country’s flagship $20 billion Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) plant project in Cabo Delgado, as well as the $34 million Mozambique Energy for All Project, which has connected over 45,500 households to electricity.
The Bank’s energy sector investments have helped to double Mozambique’s national energy access rate from 30% in 2018 to 60% in 2024. The Bank has also supported agricultural transformation through special agro-industrial processing zones, including the Pemba-Lichinga corridor, while financing critical transport infrastructure along the Nacala and Beira corridors that enhance regional trade connectivity for the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Africa50’s investments in Mozambique include the following:
- Equity investment in the 175 MW Central Termica de Ressano Garcia (CTRG) gas-fired power plant
- Finalization of project development agreements for three transformation lines under an independent power transmission framework, partnering with Power Grid and Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM)
- Data Center Facility in Maputo City
Looking ahead
Adesina, who is preparing to conclude his tenure as President of the African Development Bank Group and Chairman of Africa50 on September 1, 2025, emphasized the Bank’s robust transformation in the ten years since he became President.
This includes the Bank receiving a historic increase in its capital from $93 billion to $318 billion, its High 5 development priorities delivering positive impact on 565 million people, maintaining its AAA rating, being ranked globally as the best multilateral financing institution, and as the most transparent development finance institution in the world.
In addition, the African Investment Forum, launched in 2018 by the Bank and eight other institutions to accelerate Africa’s economic transformation through strategic investment, has since mobilized over $225 billion in investment interest.
“To close Africa’s infrastructure gap requires that we build and scale up partnerships—joining our hands around the Baobab tree of infrastructure opportunities,” Adesina said. “Together we are stronger, and Africa50 represents the strongest platform for unlocking global capital for African development.”
Looking ahead, he affirmed continued commitment to the continent: “I will not be stepping back, I will be stepping forward in our collective drive to unlock global capital for Africa.”
Speech: http://apo-opa.co/4lrmXc7
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).
Media Contact:
Emeka Anuforo,
Communication and External Relations Department
Email: media@afdb.org
About the African Development Bank Group:
The African Development Bank Group is Africa’s premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 41 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: www.AfDB.org
