By Our Reporter
Uganda and Rwanda are the first East African countries to become members of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a leading development finance institution for infrastructure projects in Africa.
AFC is progressively aligning its country membership with its operational footprint, consistent with a carefully designed membership expansion strategy. Uganda which signed the Corporation’s instrument of accession and acceptance of membership on 6th November 2015 brings the Corporation’s total members to 13. AFC’s other members are: Cape Verde, Chad; Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra-Leone.
The accession of these countries marks a significant milestone in AFC’s mission to address Africa’s pressing infrastructure needs and build the foundations for robust economic development across the continent. To date the Corporation has invested US$ 2.6 billion in projects across 24 African countries and in a wide range of sectors including power, telecommunications, transport and logistics, natural resources and heavy industries.
Commenting on the announcement Andrew Alli, CEO of AFC said, “By improving the infrastructure of these fast-emerging East African economies we hope to facilitate closer intraregional trade links, a goal that can only be achieved if the adequate transport, telecommunications networks and power supply are in place. This is where AFC steps in and we are excited by the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
