The Africa Finance Corporation has become the 30th development finance institution to join IFC’s Master Cooperation Agreement, making it easier for the two institutions to collaborate to expand private sector investments in African infrastructure and boost jobs and economic growth.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, plays a key role in mobilizing private capital to accelerate development in emerging markets. Its Master Cooperation Agreement standardizes steps that lenders take when co-financing projects with IFC. This streamlined approach saves time and money for borrowers—private companies in emerging markets—and lenders. Lenders who adopt the agreement benefit from IFC’s $16-billion loan-syndication platform, global presence, and expertise in deal-structuring expertise and due diligence.
The Africa Finance Corporation, based in Nigeria, was set up in 2007 to help bridge the continent’s infrastructure-financing gap. “AFC has invested about $4.5 billion of its own balance sheet since 2009 and hopes to leverage with IFC to do more alongside each other because there is obviously a lot of work to be done,” said Andrew Alli, CEO of the Africa Finance Corporation.
Jingdong Hua, IFC’s Vice President and Treasurer, said: “This agreement with the Africa Finance Corporation marks the addition of another important partner to our network of MCA signatories,” said. “It also complements IFC’s longstanding focus on helping African clients fill Africa’s infrastructure gap.”
IFC created the MCA in 2009, in response to calls by the Group of 20 nations for official finance institutions to collaborate more closely to help meet shortfalls in private sector financing during the global financial crisis. Since then, IFC has syndicated more than $9.5 billion in parallel loans for clients—nearly half of which has come from MCA signatories. Click here for a full list of the signatories.
