NAIROBI, Kenya, April 24, APO Group: Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the continent’s leading infrastructure solutions provider, has announced an agreement with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), pertaining to its USD750 million Infrastructure Climate Resilient Fund (ICRF).
The agreement, signed on the sidelines of the AFC’s ongoing The Africa We Build Summit in Nairobi, marks a significant step in scaling climate adaptation finance across Africa, while it underscores the strengthening of African institutional alignment around infrastructure, acting as a catalyst for climate resilience, regional integration, and long-term economic transformation.
Managed by AFC Capital Partners (ACP), the Corporation’s asset management subsidiary, ICRF, is a pioneering infrastructure fund designed to climate-proof Africa’s infrastructure by embedding resilience measures across the entire asset lifecycle—from planning and design through to construction and operation.
The fund directly addresses a critical development challenge facing the continent: ensuring infrastructure systems can withstand increasingly severe and unpredictable climate impacts.
The fund has already attracted strong participation from leading global and African institutional investors, including a USD253 million commitment from the Green Climate Fund (GCF)—its largest equity investment in Africa to date. DBSA’s entry further strengthens the Fund’s position as a pioneering vehicle for mobilising climate finance into transformative climate-resilient infrastructure across Africa.
Through blended finance and targeted de-risking mechanisms, the fund enables the integration of resilience measures, thus overcoming market impediments to finance while unlocking private capital at scale.
President & CEO of Africa Finance Corporation Samaila Zubairu commented: “ICRF is our response to a defining challenge—ensuring Africa’s infrastructure is built to withstand the growing impacts of climate change. With the continent losing an estimated 2 percent to 5 percent of GDP annually to climate shocks and adaptation needs reaching up to $50 billion each year, the urgency is clear. We are therefore pleased to welcome DBSA as a key partner for the Fund. Their participation reflects strong African institutional alignment and marks a significant milestone in a partnership we look forward to deepening in the years ahead.”
While the Chief Executive Officer of the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Boitumelo Mosako, commented, “Africa does not have the luxury of waiting. Climate shocks are outpacing adaptation finance, and vulnerable communities continue to bear the greatest burden. This partnership with the Africa Finance Corporation sends a clear signal that development finance institutions are pooling their mandates, capital, and risk appetite to achieve what neither institution can accomplish alone.”
The fund brings together leading institutions, including DBSA, AFC, and GCF, combining their expertise, capital, and climate mandates to accelerate investment in climate-resilient infrastructure.
Explicitly designed to address the systemic risks posed by climate change to Africa’s infrastructure, the fund targets investment into renewable energy, transport and logistics, digital infrastructure, and industrial development—sectors central to enabling low-carbon economic growth across Africa while strengthening the resilience of the continent’s economic systems.
Through ICRF, AFC Capital Partners is expected to mobilise up to USD3.7 billion in total financing, significantly scaling investment in climate-resilient infrastructure across Africa. The Fund is building a diversified portfolio of 10 to 12 infrastructure projects across the continent, contributing to more resilient, connected, and sustainable African economies.
