AfDB president Akinwumi Adesina (center) with representatives of the Africa Investment Forum's founding partner institutions during the AfDB's Annual Meetings 2025
On the sidelines of the African Development Bank Annual Meetings, founding partners of the Africa Investment Forum signed a Partnership Framework Agreement, reinforcing their collective commitment to mobilize transformative investments across the African continent.
The new framework creates a clearer partnership model that sets out the roles and benefits for the founding partners. It also opens the door for expansion to new partners, ensuring everyone benefits while increasing the Forum's overall impact.
Launched in 2018, the Africa Investment Forum platform has solidified its standing as Africa’s premier investment marketplace for global investors and has garnered nearly $225 billion in investment interest to date.
Principals of the African Development Bank Group, Africa50, Africa Finance Corporation, Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and Afreximbank signed the agreement. The other partners are Trade and Development Bank, European Investment Bank and Islamic Development Bank.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, President of the African Development Bank Group and chairperson of the Africa Investment Forum, Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina said:
"This agreement is a testament to our shared vision: that Africa will not be developed by aid, but by investment. The AIF has changed perceptions and proven that Africa is indeed a bankable destination."
Dr Fahad Abdullah Aldossari, Chairman of BADEA’s Board of Directors said: “The signing of the AIF Framework Agreement marks a remarkable milestone to ascertain both effectiveness and efficiency as well as financial sustainability for AIF 2.0 in a bid to advance more projects to bankability and crowd-in transformative investments to the continent.”
Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa 50 said: “This signature marks our renewed commitment to support the objectives of the Africa Investment Forum, launched under the visionary leadership of President Adesina. It is a much-needed deal-making platform that helps strengthen collaborations and leverage innovative models to unlock private capital to accelerate the delivery of bankable projects on the continent. It is critical for African Institutions to support it”.
“As a Founding Partner, we are proud to see this initiative formally take shape.
Through AIF, we’ve proven what Africa can achieve when we collaborate — building the continent’s first investment platform that truly mobilizes capital for bankable, high-impact projects,” said Samaila Zubairu, President and CEO of Africa Finance Corporation.
"We have to continue leveraging the AIF as a platform for capital mobilisation in Africa, to bridge the infrastructure funding gap in the continent," said DBSA’s CEO Boitumelo Mosako.
The signing of the Partnership Framework Agreement takes place ahead of what is expected to be an expanded and impactful Market Days 2025, to be held from 26 to 28 November 2025 in Rabat, Morocco. Market Days, the centerpiece of the Africa Investment Forum platform, brings together investors, deal sponsors and heads of government to advance transformational African projects toward financial close.
