Tanzania joins projects financier Africa50

Tanzania has become the fourth country in the region to be a shareholder of the Pan-African infrastructural financier Africa50, expanding the institution’s pool of investors to 34 and widening its access to capital for projects.

Tanzania’s Finance and Planning Minister Mwigulu Nchemba on Tuesday signed the share subscription agreement in Casablanca, Morocco, making Dar the 34th shareholder of the continental financier, joining — among others — Kenya, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The institution is now owned by 31 African countries, the African Development Bank, the Central Bank of West African States, and Morocco’s central bank – the Bank Al-Maghrib.

Since its formation in 2012, Africa50 has financed 16 infrastructural projects worth about $5 billion in general, seven of which have been completed. It invests in all African countries although most of its projects are in shareholding nations.

Projects

In the region, it has invested in three projects in Kenya – a fixed internet company, a data centre, and a public-private partnership project for electricity transmission – and one project in Rwanda – an ICT techno park.

“Tanzania is keen on developing its infrastructure to support the economic development of the country and we are pleased to join Africa50 as a shareholder to leverage on their expertise to deliver the government’s priority infrastructure projects,” Dr Nchemba said.

“Africa50 is already executing transformational projects across the continent, and we are looking forward to working closely on some strategic projects in our country.”

Africa50 Chief Executive Alain Ebobissé said the institution also “looks forward” to supporting Dar’s infrastructural projects “with our project development and finance expertise”, while calling on more African countries to join the institution’s investors.

“There is an urgent need for African countries to increase investments in sustainable infrastructure to support economic development,” Ebobissé said.

As a shareholder of Africa50, Tanzania will contribute to the committed capital used in facilitating the platform’s investment projects, and share in its yields, but will also have an upper hand in getting funding from the institution for its projects.