The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has signed a Joint Project Preparation Facility (JPPF) agreement with the Government of South Africa to accelerate the rollout of critical infrastructure projects, unlocking at least US$750 million in investments.
The deal, formalised during the Intra-African Trade Fair 2025 (IATF2025) in Algiers, Algeria, will support the Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) Programme under the National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. It is designed to co-finance the preparation of bankable projects across energy, transport, logistics and digital infrastructure.
By combining Afreximbank’s financial expertise with ISA’s oversight, the partnership aims to address one of the country’s long-standing bottlenecks: the slow conversion of project concepts into implementation-ready ventures.
“The slow progression of project concepts into fully implemented projects often stems from insufficient vigour in the project preparation phase,” said Kenny Molong, Deputy Minister in the Presidency of South Africa. “This partnership with Afreximbank positions us to transform concepts into viable infrastructure projects that will attract private sector financing and deliver socio-economic benefits. Collaboration is key; no single nation or organisation has all the answers.”
Oluranti Doherty, Afreximbank’s Managing Director of Export Development, said the collaboration reflects the bank’s strategy of supporting regional economic hubs.
“We are pleased to partner with Government of South Africa, a pivotal regional economic powerhouse, to address its infrastructure challenges,” she said. “Our goal is to establish a cohesive and interconnected infrastructure ecosystem that will elevate South Africa’s competitiveness and spur economic development, extending benefits beyond its borders into the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region thereby promoting Intra-African trade and regional integration.”
She added that Afreximbank will focus on mobilising funding and technical expertise to de-risk projects at the preparation stage, improving both quality and delivery speed. “Through this partnership, we aim to mobilise essential funding and technical expertise to de-risk projects at a critical stage in their development, enhancing the quality and speed of infrastructure delivery.”
ISA’s Acting Head, Mameetse Masemola, said the partnership was “a huge milestone” that will help deliver a credible pipeline of projects, in line with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s mandate.
The agreement was signed against the backdrop of IATF2025, which closed with more than US$48 billion in trade and investment deals, 112,000 participants and 2,100 exhibitors. The event was hosted by Algeria and organised by Afreximbank in partnership with the African Union Commission and the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat.
