KfW Development Bank has provided a $150m 15-year loan facility to Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), an international investment grade multilateral finance institution.

The funds will be used to refinance projects across the corporation's current and prospective member states in several of AFC's priority investment sectors: power, telecommunications, transport and heavy industries.

Andrew Alli, President and CEO of AFC, said: "Not only will this loan facility from KfW add valuable capital to our finance reserves but the 15-year tenor period is particularly suited to funding the long-term, large-scale infrastructure projects that are so needed across Africa.”

"Africa's infrastructure deficit is widely estimated to be approximately $90bn every year for the next decade, with spending needed for new investments as well as operations and maintenance of what is already there. Loans such as these are invaluable if we are to make substantial progress with bridging this gap and stimulating economic development on the continent," he said.

KfW conducted a positive due diligence exercise and credit appraisal prior to offering the loan facility to AFC.

The team's positive response was based on AFC's successful track record of project financing and development throughout its relatively short history.

Jan Martin Witte, Head of Division for Infrastructure at KfW Development Bank, said: "KfW is excited about Africa's growth potential. To enable that growth, and to build a sustainable future, countries on the continent will have to invest heavily in power, transport and other infrastructure sectors.”

“As one of the world's leading development finance institutions, KfW is proud to build partnerships with entrepreneurial institutions such as AFC that can drive development and progress on the African continent,” he said.

The announcement comes shortly after AFC was awarded an A3/P-2, investment grade credit rating with a stable outlook by international ratings agency Moody's for a third consecutive year.

In addition, earlier today, AFC, along with partners Harith General Partners, announced a joint venture to merge several key power assets.

The joint venture's near term portfolio supplies reliable energy to over 30 million people in at least 10 African countries and has a combined gross operational and under-construction capacity of 1,575 MW.