Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has announced the inclusion of Burundi and São Tomé & Príncipe as its newest member countries, bringing the total to 42 African nations.
Audace Niyonzima, Burundi’s Minister of Finance, Budget, and Economic Planning, expressed enthusiasm about the country’s membership in AFC, stating, “This decision is not only a milestone for our country but also an opportunity for us to foster sustainable economic growth and develop our infrastructure leveraging AFC’s vast network and reach across the continent.”
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Burundi’s inclusion marks an expansion of AFC’s presence in East Africa, following recent memberships by South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia. The corporation is set to leverage its expertise in infrastructure development and financing to support Burundi’s National Development Plan, focusing on modernizing and diversifying the land-locked economy. This includes initiatives in key sectors such as mining, transportation, logistics, and energy.
The addition of São Tomé & Príncipe enhances AFC’s footprint in Portuguese-speaking Lusophone countries. The West African twin island joins AFC’s existing Lusophone members, including Angola, Guinea Bissau, and Cape Verde. The corporation aims to support São Tomé & Príncipe in achieving its target of generating half of all renewable electricity by 2030. With plans also in place to assist the nation in developing resilient transport infrastructure to withstand climate change impacts, given its vulnerability to rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, higher sea levels, and extreme weather.
“We welcome São Tomé and Príncipe, and Burundi into the AFC community and look forward to furthering our close collaboration with both nations’ governments to help advance their economic development and industrialization. I am confident that working together, we will quickly identify projects that will prove transformative in driving import substitution, value addition, job creation, and beneficiation of the abundant natural wealth of both nations,” stated Samaila Zubairu, President & CEO of AFC.
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Over the last five years AFC has doubled its membership over the past five years, with a focus on driving private sector-led infrastructure projects in Africa such as the 26MW Cabeolica Wind Farm in Cape Verde, the recently inaugurated 60MW Red Sea Power Wind Farm in Djibouti, and the Segilola Gold mine in Nigeria, the country’s first commercial-scale gold mine.
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