Feature ArticleAFRICA : WHERE DIVERSITY MEETS OPPORTUNITY
Huge untapped potential, enormous investment opportunities, and overplayed risk fears—the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) President & CEO Samaila Zubairu lays out a bold vision for the continent not just developing but also being an engine for global growth, along with the collaborative role of Japan and TICAD.
Cape Town at night, South Africa—illuminated by progress, the city’s light symbolizes Africa’s unfolding future.
Since the first event in 1993, TICAD has expanded in size and scope, bringing together delegations from around 50 African countries and partner organizations to work toward growth on the continent. Held in collaboration with the Government of Japan, the United Nations, United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank and the African Union Commission, the conference aims to promote African-driven development.
President & CEO, Africa Finance Corporation SAMAILA ZUBAIRU Prior to joining the AFC as president and CEO in 2018, Samaila Zubairu held senior positions at companies including Africapital and Dangote Group, which he helped grow into West Africa’s largest conglomerate. He sits on the Eisenhower Fellowships board of trustees and has a BSc in Accounting from Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria.
Could you start by outlining why Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) was created and its role today?
Africa is a vast, diverse continent—a “continent of continents.” Its size and diversity require massive infrastructure. Historically, we’ve had ambitions to build that infrastructure, but struggled with execution. AFC was created to change that.
We were established as a public-private partnership to provide pragmatic, commercial discipline in execution. Our job is to turn complexity into structure, align capital with ambition, and bridge the gap between much-talked-about African potential and real progress, prosperity, and high-quality jobs. Since inception, we’ve deployed over USD15.5 billion across 36 countries, and our investment-grade rating has held for over a decade.
What areas does AFC focus on?
Our focus spans power, energy resources, transport, logistics, metals and mining, heavy industry, telecoms, and financial services. We support projects from early-stage development to operations—deploying risk capital and financing throughout the lifecycle. With 45 African member states, we are increasingly seen as a trusted local partner with the capacity to deliver impactful infrastructure that drives value creation and regional integration.
What are some common misconceptions about Africa’s economies?
The biggest one is that Africa is excessively risky. While there are risks, they’re often overstated. Default rates in Africa for infrastructure project finance are lower than in Latin America and parts of Asia. Our own non-performing loan loss ratio is under 1 percent. We also invested in InfraCredit, which provides investment-grade guarantees for pension funds and insurance companies with no losses and no guarantee ever called.
This misperception of risk means Africa pays a “prejudice premium” through higher borrowing costs not backed by fundamentals. Excess interest on sovereign debt due to negative media stereotypes is estimated at USD4.2 billion. Clearly, there’s money to be made from this misperception of risk; we Africans should make the money.
Has the world fully realized Africa’s potential?
Not yet. Global growth is stalling, and the world is relying on financial engineering instead of expanding real supply. Africa offers a true supply-side solution—with over 30 percent of global mineral reserves, 60 percent of the world’s best solar resources, and a rising workforce as other regions age.
It’s not just about helping Africa; it’s about unlocking shared prosperity. But that requires shifting the focus from extraction to transformation and value capture. The world must grow supply to drive global growth—and Africa’s immense potential will be far more powerful when developed from within.
What would that value capture look like?
It means transforming what we produce. Take cocoa. West Africa supplies most of the world’s cocoa but earns little from the global chocolate and derivatives market. That’s not value capture. Producing chocolate locally could significantly boost value retention.
In the EV value chain, we’ve shown it’s cheaper and less carbon intensive to produce battery precursors in Africa—offering a net zero advantage. If Africa needs two million trucks, that’s reason enough to build them locally. That means jobs, higher incomes, and more sustainable growth.
The Port of Cotonou in Benin is playing an expanding role in regional trade and logistics.
What are the biggest challenges for infrastructure investment on the continent?
The first is mindset. We must stop waiting for external help and finance our own development. Second is project preparation. We’ve led in this area, but it needs more capital. Our recent State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report identified USD4 trillion in domestic capital pools, including USD455 billion in pensions, USD320 billion in insurance, and USD150 billion in sovereign wealth, but these aren’t being sufficiently channeled into productive sectors. We need regulatory reform to enable structured intermediation between these capital pools and infrastructure projects.
AFC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with JBIC in 2023. What’s the goal of that partnership?
Our MOU with JBIC supports environmental preservation projects in Africa involving Japanese companies. We’re already seeing results. The MOU clarified how Japanese firms can support global supply chain diversification—especially in battery value chains and energy interconnections.
Africa offers both the critical minerals and a growing market for electric trucks needed to decarbonize mining. It’s about skills transfer, execution, and using guarantees and co-financing to mobilize Japanese capacity for African projects. We encourage Japanese companies to integrate EV supply chains into Africa—from minerals to market demand.
What role do you see initiatives like TICAD playing in all this?
TICAD is a bridge aligning Japan with Africa. We’re engaging with Japanese companies on manufacturing, energy, and mobility. TICAD can help scale these partnerships into lasting economic relationships.
Looking ahead, where do you want to see AFC in 10 years?
We are backing Africa’s largest copper smelting facility, powered entirely by renewable hydro energy and producing green copper. This is a pioneering demonstration of industrial decarbonization on the continent.
Looking ahead, we see AFC at the center of an African industrial revolution—where railways that connect the continent are forged from locally processed iron ore, and aluminum for infrastructure is produced from our own bauxite reserves. Our ambition is to mobilize domestic capital to fund this transformation, creating jobs, fueling innovation, and unlocking the vast potential of Africa’s youth.
