Afreximbank, DBSA Sign Framework to Prepare Up to $20 Million in Infrastructure Projects

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) have signed a Joint Project Preparation Facility (JPPF) Framework Agreement to support the development of high-impact, trade-enabling infrastructure and industrial projects in South Africa and the wider Southern African region.

Under the agreement, each institution can contribute up to $10 million, providing a combined potential facility of up to $20 million for project preparation activities. The facility will support projects from the concept stage through to bankability by addressing technical, financial, and legal requirements needed to attract investment.

The agreement is among the first operational instruments to follow South Africa’s accession to the Afreximbank Establishment Agreement in February 2026. South Africa became the bank’s 54th member state during the month, when Afreximbank also announced an $8 billion Country Programme for the country.

The JPPF builds on the partnership between Afreximbank and DBSA, following the Master Risk Participation Agreement signed by the two institutions in February 2026. It extends their cooperation into the upstream project-preparation stage and supports the objectives of South Africa’s National Development Plan 2030, regional integration within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Under the facility, Afreximbank and DBSA will jointly originate, screen, and prioritise projects before supporting the technical, financial, and legal work required to make them investment-ready.

Priority areas will include power and energy, particularly energy transition; transport and logistics; information and communication technology; strategic minerals beneficiation; and other sectors agreed by the two institutions. The initial focus will be South Africa and the wider Southern African region, with the possibility of extending the framework to other African countries of mutual strategic interest.

Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development at Afreximbank, said the facility would address the shortage of projects prepared to the standards required by investors and lenders. She added that combining Afreximbank’s trade and industrialisation mandate with DBSA’s infrastructure-development expertise would help move priority projects from concept to investment readiness and mobilise public, private, and blended finance.

Gregory Fyfe, Chief Investment Officer at DBSA, said the facility would strengthen the pipeline of bankable infrastructure and industrial projects across South Africa and Southern Africa. He added that the partnership would leverage the complementary capabilities of the two institutions to improve project preparation and unlock investment opportunities supporting economic growth, industrialisation, and regional integration.

Projects prepared under the JPPF may subsequently seek financing from Afreximbank or DBSA, subject to separate appraisal and approval. They may also be presented to private investors, development finance institutions, and commercial lenders.

Both institutions will collaborate on project origination, preparation, knowledge-sharing, and portfolio monitoring, with the objective of improving project bankability and supporting the implementation of infrastructure and industrial projects across the region.