Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) Brings Mining Finance and Beneficiation Push to African Mining Week 2026
Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) will bring a delegation of senior executives to African Mining Week (AMW) 2026 – scheduled for October 14–16 in Cape Town – reinforcing its commitment to mobilizing capital for Africa’s mining, mineral processing and infrastructure development.
Franklin Edochie, Deputy Director and Head of Metals&Mining, will deliver a keynote address highlighting the institution’s investment strategy, its impact across Africa’s mining sector and the financing approaches being used to expand mineral production and support local beneficiation.
Investment Associate Ahmed Bello-Maccido will participate in the “Regional Connectivity: Financing Africa’s Mineral Infrastructure” panel, examining how investment in rail, ports, roads and other strategic infrastructure can connect mineral-producing regions with domestic and international markets while supporting regional trade and value addition.
Molebogeng Mazibuko, Associate Vice President and Mining Lead, will feature in “Enabling Africa’s Value Addition Corridors,” exploring how reliable energy and logistics infrastructure can support mineral processing hubs and industrial corridors across the continent.
She will also deliver the presentation, “Partnering with AFC to Unlock Africa’s Mining Potential,” highlighting partnership and financing structures that can help mining stakeholders mobilize capital for the development and processing of Africa’s mineral resources.
AFC’s participation comes as the institution expands its financing of projects designed to move African economies beyond the export of raw minerals toward greater processing, manufacturing and industrial development.
In Nigeria, AFC has partnered with the Solid Minerals Development Fund on the development of a $1.3 billion alumina refinery, a nationwide geoscience mapping program and a strategic investment vehicle to accelerate mineral exploration and development. The planned refinery is expected to produce up to one million tonnes of alumina annually, while the geoscience program is intended to improve understanding and commercialization of Nigeria’s mineral resources.
Infrastructure is another key part of AFC’s approach to unlocking mineral development. The institution has reached financial close on the $753 million Lobito Corridor Railway Project, mobilizing financing from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and the Development Bank of Southern Africa. The project will support the rehabilitation, upgrade, and long-term operation of the 1,300-kilometre brownfield rail corridor linking the Port of Lobito in Angola to the DRC border, strengthening regional connectivity and linking mineral-producing regions in the DRC and Zambia with Angola’s Atlantic coast and international markets.
AFC’s mining portfolio spans commodities and markets across the continent. Recent transactions include a $330 million senior debt financing package for the Baomahun Gold Project in Sierra Leone, a $240 million loan for KEFI’s Tulu Kapi Gold Project in Ethiopia, and a $220 million senior debt, mezzanine debt and working-capital investment in Lucara’s Karowe Diamond Mine in Botswana.
The institution’s $244 million investment in Nouvelle Gabon Mining is supporting the development of manganese deposits in Franceville and Okondja.
Together, these investments illustrate AFC’s approach to combining project finance, structured capital, infrastructure investment and strategic partnerships to address the financing and infrastructure constraints facing Africa’s mining industry.
At AMW 2026, AFC executives will bring these experiences to discussions with governments, mining companies, investors and infrastructure developers looking to translate Africa’s mineral wealth into productive investment, local value addition and broader economic growth.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital&Power.
