World
Funding Africa’s Infrastructure Gap
Key to enabling African economies to make the most of their opportunities is developing infrastructure in the region. Across the continent, new laws are being implemented and alternative sources of infrastructure funding are being sought in order to kick-start direly needed infrastructure projects. At the centre of it all is China, which is providing alternative sources financing to countries in Africa that have not been able to access funding in more traditional ways. The benefits are numerous, but African countries are also concerned about their growing dependence on China.
Research released in 2018 from Baker McKenzie and IJGlobal (research) with data drawn exclusively from fully financed projects and excluding recent announcements of government funding commitments, shows that the value of loans from Chinese financing of energy and infrastructure projects in Africa almost trebled between 2016 and 2017, from $3 billion to $8.8 billion..
“As China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a multi-billion dollar plan to link Asia, Europe and Africa, is actively being implemented, we expect this amount will increase even further in the coming years,” says Wildu du Plessis, Head of Banking & Finance at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg.
According to the research, Chinese banks have been active lenders to infrastructure projects in 19 different countries in Africa in the past four years. Infrastructure projects in Ethiopia have received $1,8 billion since 2014, Kenyan projects $4,8 billion, Mozambique infra deals $1,6 billion and Nigerian projects $5 billion from Chinese lenders. South African infrastructure projects have received $2.2 billion from Chinese lenders since 2014, Zambia has received $1.5 billion and Zimbabwe has seen $1.3 billion in loans from Chinese policy lenders since 2014.
As one of South Africa’s largest trading partners, China plays an important role in infrastructure investment in this country too. At the BRICS Summit Energy in 2018, China pledged to invest USD 14.7bn in South Africa and to grant loans to state owned enterprises Eskom and Transnet.
Du Plessis notes that even though the South African infrastructure funding gap is not as severe as other countries in Africa, there is a still difficulty in mobilising funds for infrastructure development and related projects because traditional funders take time to decide on whether to get involved.
Stanley Jia, Partner in the Beijing Office of Baker McKenzie, notes, “As part of the mobilisation of different sources of funding to fill the infrastructure gap, there is a big bucket of Chinese funding that can be used for infrastructure projects in Africa. The increasing appetite from China for funding infrastructure projects as part of its BRI means they are happy to partner with local development finance institutions and other international funders.”
According to Kieran Whyte, Head of Energy, Mining & Infrastructure at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg, “A big attraction of the BRI for both African governments and project sponsors is that it assists the speed of project implementation. Project stakeholders advise that the whole process is a lot quicker than other options.”
Jia notes that, “Chinese policy lenders also assist in providing liquidity in that they are willing to negotiate with countries that have financial constraints that deny them access to traditional capital.”
Du Plessis notes, however, that there is rising concern amongst African sovereigns who are worried about the long term effects on their dependence on China.
“This is even though China has reiterated that it wants to be considered a responsible investor in Africa. It remains to be seen whether this concern has an impact on Chinse involvement in the funding infrastructure projects in future years. African countries have also begun building capacity to correct the imbalance between borrowers and lenders in the negotiation phase so that more balanced agreements can be reached,” he explains.
Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire
Khaled Abou El Houda, Managing Partner of Houda Law Firm in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, notes, “Senegal became a BRI partner with China after the two countries signed bilateral deals during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s West Africa trip in late July 2018.
“In addition to plans for improving infrastructure in Senegal, China promised to support the country with anti-terror, peacekeeping and maintaining social stability. However, while the BRI has provided many opportunities for development, the general consensus is the China-Africa relationship could be placed on more equal footing. The challenge for Africa is in establishing where its interests converge with China’s, where they diverge, and how areas of convergence can be shaped to advance African development priorities,” he says.
Houda explains that in order to help fund the infrastructure gap, the Senegalese government adopted the Plan Senegal Emergent (PSE) in 2014, with the overall aim of boosting the economy.
“We saw encouraging signs of 6.8% real GDP growth one year after the PSE’s implementation and it has maintained more than 6% growth in subsequent years. Building on this success, the government is continuing its PSE implementation and related reforms, targeting sectors such as energy, transport infrastructure and agriculture.”
Zimbabwe
In Zimbabwe, Thomas Chagudumba, of Atherstone & Cook notes that the infrastructure funding gap is being addressed in various ways. Funding comes through government floating infrastructure bonds, Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and off-budget loan funding. Khumalo notes that policy consistency, particularly in respect of currency convertibility, exchange control regulations on repatriation of funds and improved transparency and accountability are all essential to encourage infrastructure funding in Zimbabwe. Further, he explains that it is important to ring fence resources, including foreign currency, for critical inputs in support of ongoing works. This can be done via undertakings from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and government guarantees. Construction and performance bonds could also be used to curb poor project implementation, mismanagement and corruption in the infrastructure sector.
Chagudumba notes that Zimbabwe has also benefited from the BRI with major projects in Zimbabwe including the Kariba South Hydro Power Station and the Victoria Falls International Airport.
“For Zimbabwe, the benefits of the BRI include that it aids in infrastructure development, which in turn benefits economic expansion. The transfer of information and expertise and employment creation are further benefits.”
Mauritius
Mauritius does not have a large infrastructure funding gap as compared to other jurisdictions in Africa, explains Moorari Gujadhur, a barrister at Madun Gujadhur Chambers in Mauritius. “Infrastructure projects in Mauritius tend to focus on either improving current infrastructure (ie large grid separated flyovers) or to introduce new projects (ie light rail transport). These tend to be government to government,” he says.
He explains, “India has provided Mauritius with a grant and loan to fund the development of a light rail transport project, whilst China is making investments in the ports. The new Mauritian airport terminal was entirely funded by China.”
Ethiopia
In Ethiopia meanwhile, bridging the infrastructure gap is more complicated. Mehrteab Leul, Principal of Mehrteab Leul & Associates Law Office in Ethiopia, explains, “In February this year, Ethiopia enacted a new proclamation facilitating PPPs called the Public-Private Partnership Proclamation. According to the proclamation, it is within the powers of the PPP Board to approve PPP projects as well as instruct public bodies/enterprises to carry out a certain project as a PPP.
“According to the policy document, one of the main objectives for PPP projects is to increase the financial resources available for the development of infrastructure services in Ethiopia. All of the 17 recently approved under the PSE centre around the delivery of infrastructure services,” he notes.
Leul says that China and Italy are the prime role players infrastructure investment in Ethiopia. They have made a significant impact on the sector including via developing electricity generation capacity, supplying drinking water in urban and rural areas, developing road infrastructure and building hospitals and other infrastructure investments.
“Since 1957 the Italian contractor Salini Impregilo has completed 20 major projects in Ethiopia, worth a total of €9 billion. Chinese infrastructure investment in Ethiopia totalled $4.7 billion between 2009 and 2012.”
Leul says that in terms of the BRI, a strong win- in situation has developed for both China and Ethiopia.
“In particular, the country has benefited from infrastructure development funding, as well as technological transformation from China to Ethiopia and job creation. In general, it will enable both countries to optimize the benefits from the global market. The Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway project is a working example of benefits of the BRI,” he says.
Leul cautioned however, that the BRI, “might leave the country open to the risk of troubled debt pressure and increasing dependence on China.”
Tunisia
Omar Besbes of United Advisers in Tunisia notes that all North African countries have signed the Belt and Road Initiative with China. However, the benefits received from this initiative are divergent. While in Tunisia it is only focused on studies of infrastructure projects so far, in Algeria and Morocco some infrastructure projects are already implemented such as seaports and desalination plants.
For North African in countries, the benefits of the BRI are that it allows recipient countries to not have to depend on traditional donors, and gives them the opportunity to benefit from China’s growth. Besbes says that countries other than China that have played a substantial role in infrastructure investment in North Africa include the European Union, Japan France and Germany. As a result on their funding, roads, bridges, ports, airports, electricity production stations and desalination plants have been built in the region.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
The importance of introducing new technologies, the need for adopting innovative approaches as key drivers for the development of agriculture, as well as the need to develop an agricultural insurance system, in the context of climate change and global challenges, dominated discussions during the largest agricultural forum held in Ufa, a city in the Republic of Bashkortostan.
The main plenary session under the unique theme: “Agricultural Export: goals, trends and key development guidelines 2030” was opened by its moderator Louis Gouend, an expert of the Russia-Africa Cooperation Council under the State Duma of the Russian Federation and chairman of the commission for work with African diasporas of the Russian-African Club at Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, as well as president of the African Business Club.
Louis Gouend welcomed the participants and emphasized the importance of the issues discussed for the sustainable growth of the Russian economy. In the context of sanctions and global challenges, such as import substitution, Russia was able to maintain stability and even increase the total volume of exports.
Ilshat Ildusovich Fazrakhmanov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan, addressing the forum, expressed warm greetings to participants, and further emphasized the importance of international cooperation in the field of agro-export. Fazrakhmanov introduced Zalina Lerievna Aiba, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Development of Agricultural Exports of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, for discussion of the federal agency’s strategies.
Zalina Lerievna Aiba singled out export growth as a key driver for the development of Russian agriculture. She noted the importance of Bashkortostan against this background and presented a program for the development of agricultural exports of the Republic of Bashkortostan until 2030, developed jointly with the Federal Center “Agroexport”. The program aims to give a new impetus to the development of the agricultural sector in the region.
Vitaly Yuryevich Nagalin presented promising areas for exporting Bashkortostan products, emphasizing the need for innovative approaches. In response to a question about products with high export potential, he emphasized the unique national products of Bashkiria that could interest the foreign market. Further, during the forum, the importance of introducing new technologies, such as digitalization and precision farming, to increase competitiveness was discussed.
The topic of supporting the agricultural sector was continued by discussing the role of Rosagroleasing. Pavel Nikolaevich Kosov spoke about the importance of material and technical equipment in the context of the Republic’s export potential. He emphasized that Rosagroleasing provides farmers with key tools for modernization, facilitating the renewal of the fleet of machinery and equipment, which is necessary for the effective use of innovations in agriculture.
Korney Datkovich Bizhdov presented a report on the importance of agricultural insurance as a mechanism for financial stability of the agricultural sector. He spoke about the support provided to Bashkortostan farmers last year, when the republic received 145 million rubles in insurance payments due to unfavorable weather conditions. Bizhdov emphasized the need to develop an agricultural insurance system in the context of climate change and global challenges. Promising development areas for the coming years were announced, including programs designed to protect agricultural producers and strengthen the position of the agro-industrial complex in international markets.
In her speech, Darya Vladimirovna Snitko emphasized the main trends in the Russian agro-industrial complex and the foreign economic challenges facing exports. She noted that it is necessary to adapt to rapidly changing global conditions and identified key strategies for strengthening the position of Russian agricultural products in the world market. Snitko also emphasized the importance of technological modernization and the need to invest in innovation to achieve a competitive advantage.
Sergey Vladimirovich Lakhtyukhov discussed the prospects for the export of poultry products, emphasizing the importance of international markets for the domestic sector. He spoke about the significant contribution of Bashkortostan to the production of poultry meat, where the region has increased production volumes by 153% over the past five years. Lakhtyukhov noted efforts in the field of import substitution of breeding material and highlighted areas that contribute to the growth of the export potential of Bashkir poultry farming, such as the production of commercial and breeding eggs.
In his speech, Roman Vyacheslavovich Kostyuk devoted attention to the strategic prospects of animal husbandry with an emphasis on export. He noted the leading positions of Bashkortostan in the production of milk and beef and emphasized that exports create new opportunities for Russian livestock breeders. In addition, Kostyuk focused on the need to increase production volumes, as well as on finding ways to successfully enter international markets, which will increase the income and competitiveness of domestic livestock farming.
At the end of the session, Louis Gouend, the African moderator and expert, invited all participants, entrepreneurs from the regions, to actively participate in the forthcoming Russia-Africa exhibition and forum in October 2025. The event will be held at the Chamber of Commerce of the Russian Federation in Moscow and expected to attract a large number of African entrepreneurs to interact with their Russian colleagues; this event is a unique platform for networking and exchanging experiences between Russian and African entrepreneurs. It is expected that the event will bring together a large number of representatives of business communities from African countries, which will create excellent opportunities for cooperation and the development of new business relations.
By participating in this forum, those present will be able to not only present their projects, but also learn about the latest trends and opportunities that the African market offers. It was strongly recommended that entrepreneurs take an active part in this significant upcoming corporate event.
In the final stage of the plenary session “Agro-Industrial Complex Export: Goals, Trends and Key Development Guidelines 2030” at the Agrocomplex Forum, Louis Gouend assertively noted that the entire discussion was a significant step towards building a sustainable and competitive agricultural export system. The meeting participants emphasized the importance of integrating new technologies and innovations that will help domestic producers take a strong position in the global market.
The future of the agro-industrial complex is mutually beneficial cooperation, sustainable development and confidence in the future, which became the main motive of the meeting. Continuing joint efforts and accumulating experience, were considered as conditions to achieve collective goals and ultimately contribute to global food security and population’s well-being.
The organizers in the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan sincerely thanked all participants and partners for their active participation and look forward to next meetings to discuss further steps toward the successful development of agricultural exports!
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United States Coast Guard has commended Nigeria for considerable progress in implementing the International Ships and Ports Facility Security (ISPS) Code.
The commendation came from Mr Joe Prince Larson of the US Coast Guard who led a team from the International Port Security Programme on a Working Tour of some Terminals and Ports in Nigeria to ascertain the level of implementation of the ISPS Code across Nigerian ports facilities.
The evaluations, which commenced last year as part of a three-year plan, are geared towards providing actionable insights and data-based decisions to lift the Condition of Entry (CoE) placed on vessels departing Nigeria for the US.
According to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the team had earlier conducted assessment visits to the Dangote Port and Lekki Free Trade Zones in Lekki, Lagos State, as well as private port facilities operated by Matrix and Julius Berger in Warri, Delta State.
While delivering an interim assessment report to NIMASA Management, Mr Larson noted that Nigeria’s compliance with the ISPS Code ranks amongst the best globally.
He added that his team would report their findings to the leadership of the US Coast Guard accordingly and expressed confidence that NIMASA had the capacity to maintain the high standards attained to date.
“We had the pleasure of visiting Matrix and Julius Berger in Warri, Delta State, before proceeding to the Lekki Deep Seaport and Dangote Port in Lagos, with the overall assessment being very positive.
“We noted that there is a clear and deep understanding on the implementation of the ISPS Code in Nigeria with the level of compliance observed to be at par with some of the best maritime nations globally. We would report our findings back to US Coast Guard headquarters accordingly.”
On his part, the Director General of NIMASA, Mr Dayo Mobereola, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to maintaining the improved compliance standards at Nigeria’s ports.
He highlighted the positive impact of these efforts on the country’s international reputation, adding that the agency would continue to support efforts under the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, to improve standards in the Nigerian maritime industry.
According to him, “I must express my happiness at the positive feedback we have received from the USCG delegation as it serves as reward for the Federal Government’s commitment to the develop of the sector, and the work of the Agency, under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, to ensure international standards are adhered to in the area of port security.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Somalia has formally joined the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), becoming the 53rd African member state of the African multilateral financial institution.
Somalia has been shaped by decades of conflict, political instability, and lack of central governance, which has strongly weakened its economic strength.
Its Afreximbank membership is touted to place the country on a path of sustainable economic transformation, upgrading of the country’s trade and industrial infrastructure, and most importantly joins the rest of the continent in the push towards continental integration and self-reliance through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
In the instrument of accession signed by Mr Hirsi Jama Gani, State Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, Somalia notified Afreximbank that Somalia “accepts, and hereby accedes, to the Agreement for the Establishment of the Bank” and pledged to undertake all necessary steps to expedite ratification of the Agreement.
“On behalf of the Government of Somalia and its people, I sincerely thank Afreximbank for its efforts that led our country to become a member state of the Bank. This milestone agreement signals our commitment to becoming a key player in regional and continental development, especially through trade, under the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). This partnership is significant to Somalia’s ongoing reconstruction and economic diversification efforts, opening doors for financial and technical support.”
“We urge Afreximbank to accelerate the implementation of its programs and initiatives in Somalia, aligning them with Somalia’s National Development Plan and helping it meet its ambitious development goals. This is a critical step in realising the full potential of our country and for Somalia to regain its position as a strategic trade hub within East Africa,” Mr Ganni added.
On his part, Mr Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, emphasised the mutual benefits to both parties.
“This is a significant milestone as it widens the opportunity for the Somali public and private sectors to access financing and other related interventions that addresses their real needs. By joining the Bank, Somalia embarks on a new journey of pursuing its developmental aspirations on its own terms, backed by unwavering support from Afreximbank, a bank with proven track record of supporting its Participating States in good and bad times.
“Today, we begin a collective journey to enable the Somali economy to realise the maximum value from its natural resources while hastening its integration into the African Continental Free Trade Area.”
On his part, the Governor of the Central Bank of Somalia, Mr Abdirahman Abdullahi said Afreximbank’s visit to Mogadishu was timely as it came just after Somalia joined the East African Community regional trade bloc in 2024, and successfully completed the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief process.
“The Somali people are renowned for their trade and entrepreneurial spirit, and I urge the business community in Somalia to fully leverage the opportunities offered by Afreximbank under its financing programs, to expand their reach, drive sustainable growth, and contribute to a more connected and competitive economy,” he said.
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