Afreximbank joins hands with South Africa to boost infrastructure

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Government of South Africa have signed a landmark Joint Project Preparation Facility (JPPF) Agreement to fast-track infrastructure development in the country and strengthen Africa’s wider growth agenda. The deal, announced during the Intra-African Trade Fair 2025 (IATF2025) in Algiers, is expected to unlock at least $750 million in investments.

The partnership will combine Afreximbank’s financial expertise with the strategic oversight of Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) under the National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. It will focus on co-financing and preparing bankable projects across energy, transport, logistics and digital infrastructure.

South Africa’s Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Kenny Molong, said the collaboration would help overcome the slow pace of turning project ideas into implementation. He stressed that the partnership would attract private financing and deliver socio-economic benefits, adding that no single nation or organisation could address these challenges alone.

Oluranti Doherty, Afreximbank’s Managing Director of Export Development, said the agreement would help build a cohesive and interconnected infrastructure system to boost competitiveness, support economic growth and benefit the wider Southern African Development Community (SADC). She emphasised that Afreximbank would mobilise funding and technical expertise to reduce risks at the preparation stage and improve the speed of delivery.

ISA Acting Head Mameetse Masemola described the agreement as a milestone for South Africa, noting that it would help build a credible infrastructure pipeline as mandated by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The deal was signed on the margins of IATF2025, which concluded in Algeria with record participation. The trade fair drew more than 112,000 visitors in person and online, hosted over 2,100 exhibitors, and generated trade deals worth more than $48 billion. The event was attended by 20 Heads of State and Government representatives, senior officials and business leaders.

Launched in 2018, IATF provides a platform for African and global businesses to showcase goods, exchange market information and explore opportunities within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a single market of 1.4 billion people and GDP of more than $3.5 trillion.