UAE, London IPOs planned for Africa Finance’s infrastructure projects

Africa Finance Corp. (AFC) plans to sell shares of its projects on stock exchanges in London and the UAE to raise capital and fund infrastructure development across the continent.

The Nigerian banking group aims to combine assets in renewables, ports and industrial parks and offer them to investors through initial public offerings (IPOs) over the next three years, chief executive officer Samaila Zubairu said in an interview. The value of any such deal has yet to be determined as some of the projects are still in progress, he said.

“We have developed what we call a platform strategy, which is something that allows us to pull assets that are similar in scale and then raise capital on their own balance sheet,” Zubairu said. “We are looking at how we can get additional sources of funding.”

The development financial institution has invested more than $9.5bn in the power, logistics and exploration industries in 35 African countries since its creation, according to the company’s website. That includes investments in a 44 megawatt hydropower plant in Ivory Coast, a 60 megawatt wind farm project in Djibouti and ports facilities in Gabon, Mauritania and Ghana.

The Lagos, Nigeria-headquartered firm has estimated the continent’s infrastructure needs amounting to an extra $170bn a year, though the deficit will only grow due to supply chain challenges from the crisis in Ukraine, Zubairu said.

Russia’s invasion has increased the price of commodities including oil, grains and fertiliser. The crisis has also pushed up borrowing costs, making it more challenging for nations to take on loans to fund infrastructure. Nigeria raised $1.25bn in seven-year debt last month at 8.375 per cent, compared with 6.125 per cent six months earlier.

Established in 2007, AFC plans to build about 10 industrial parks as well as 10 ports across the continent by 2025, Zubairu said. They’ll be among the assets to be listed in stock exchanges to raise more capital.

“Our business model is raising capital as diverse as possible, for investing in Africa.”

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