The top infrastructure solutions provider on the continent, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), has authorized a commitment of up to $100 million to invest in technology fund managers with a focus on Africa.
In order to address Africa’s infrastructure development needs and promote sustainable economic growth, AFC was founded in 2007 with the goal of serving as the catalyst for practical infrastructure and industrial investments throughout the continent. It does this by combining specialized industry expertise with a focus on financial and technical advisory, project structuring, project development, and risk capital.
Since its founding, the organization, which has 48 member nations, has invested more than US$19 billion in 36 African nations and is currently preparing to make more investments. It has pledged to invest up to $100 million in catalytic capital in top technology funds with an African focus, especially fund managers that are owned by Africans.
By encouraging increased involvement from African institutional investors and strengthening local ownership within the ecosystem, AFC hopes to address the underrepresentation of local capital in venture funding.
“Across the continent, young Africans are not waiting for the digital economy to arrive; they are seizing the moment – adopting technology, creating markets and solving real economic problems faster than infrastructure has kept pace. That is the investment signal,” said Samaila Zubairu, president and CEO of AFC.
“AFC’s US$100 million Africa-focused technology fund will accelerate the convergence of growing demand, rapid technology adoption, youthful demographics and the enabling infrastructure we are building. Digital infrastructure is now as fundamental to Africa’s transformation as roads, rail, ports and power – enabling productivity, payments, logistics, services, data and cross-border trade, while creating jobs and industrial scale.”
In order to position the company throughout the entire innovation lifecycle, from early-stage venture capital to growth-stage scaling, AFC has made anchor commitments to Lightrock Africa Fund II and Future Africa Fund III as part of the initial deployment. With AFC actively assessing a pipeline of additional Africa-focused funds spanning a variety of strategies and stages, these initial commitments constitute the first tranche of a larger deployment. Additional commitments are anticipated in the near future.
“We are delighted to welcome Africa Finance Corporation as an anchor investor in Lightrock Africa II, deepening a strong partnership shaped by our collaboration on high-impact investments across Africa, including Moniepoint, Lula, and M-KOPA,” said Pal Erik Sjatil, managing partner and CEO of Lightrock.
“This commitment reflects a shared conviction in the opportunity to back high-growth, technology-enabled businesses with proven business models, strong fundamentals, and clear pathways to profitability. With aligned capital, a long-term perspective, and a shared focus on value creation, we are well positioned to support exceptional management teams and scale category-leading businesses that deliver attractive financial returns alongside measurable environmental and social outcomes.”
Future Africa’s founding partner, Iyin Aboyeji, stated that young Africans were among the world’s most active participants in the digital economy rather than merely waiting for it to arrive.
