AFC Creates Insurance Arm to Strengthen Investments Risk Management

By Adedapo Adesanya

Infrastructure solutions provider, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), has established a Bermudian wholly owned subsidiary, AFC Captive Insurance Company Ltd (AFC Captive), to enhance its risk management capabilities and support the continued growth of its infrastructure financing activities across Africa.

The move is backed by up to $30 million in equity capital and will see AFC Captive initially provide insurance coverage for loans extended by the financer to its counterparties. This will enable the corporation to manage and retain risk more efficiently while reducing reliance on external commercial insurance markets over time.

Licensed as a class 2 insurer, the company will also have the flexibility to extend insurance capacity to AFC affiliates and select third parties, with up to 20% of underwriting capacity allocated to such businesses.

The establishment of AFC Captive builds on the financer’s strong investment-grade credit profile. It holds an A3 long-term issuer rating from Moody’s, among the highest investment-grade ratings of any African institution. In January 2026, S&P Global assigned AFC an ‘A’ long-term and ‘A-1’ short-term issuer credit rating with a Positive Outlook, the highest rating AFC has received from a major global ratings agency to date.

AFC has also recently received renewed AAA domestic issuer ratings with stable outlooks from China Chengxin International Credit Rating Co. Ltd (CCXI) and S&P Global (China) Ratings, reflecting continued confidence in its financial strength, prudent risk management, liquidity and capital position.

Leveraging this strong credit standing, AFC Captive will seek to build its own investment-grade credit profile as it develops scale and operating capacity.

Beyond strengthening AFC’s internal risk management framework, AFC Captive creates a platform to deepen the Corporation’s insurance expertise and develop tailored risk-mitigation solutions for infrastructure investment across Africa.

The financier said that over time, the business is expected to expand its offering to a broader range of third-party clients.

Speaking on the development, Mr Samaila Zubairu, President & CEO of AFC, said: “Africa’s infrastructure needs demand innovative approaches that allow us to mobilise more capital and extend financing capacity across the continent. AFC Captive is an important addition to our platform, enhancing our ability to manage risk, deploy capital more efficiently, and scale investment into the infrastructure and industrial projects that will drive long-term growth and economic transformation.”

On his part, Mr Wola Asase, Deputy Director and Head of Syndications at AFC, will also manage the subsidiary as the Head of AFC Captive and Director on the board.

“AFC Captive gives us greater flexibility in how we structure and support transactions across our portfolio,” said Mr Asase, adding that, “By using insurance more strategically, we can expand market capacity, improve capital efficiency and unlock financing for projects that may otherwise be constrained by limited or costly external insurance.”