African Infrastructure Finance Facility (AIF) Launched at the 39th African Union Summit

African leaders and financial institutions have formally launched the African Infrastructure Finance Facility (AIF) as a flagship platform to mobilize long-term capital for transformative, cross-border infrastructure projects aligned with the African Union’s Agenda 2063. The official launch took place during a Heads of State and Government Breakfast Dialogue on the sidelines of the 39th AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Saturday, February 14, 2026.

The new facility is designed as an Africa-led mechanism to strengthen the continent’s financial architecture and close massive infrastructure financing gaps that have held back development in sectors like transport, energy, water, and digital connectivity. Officials described it as a coordinated platform that will mobilize and deploy long-term capital and connect African governments, regional financial institutions and private investors around shared infrastructure priorities.

The AIF launch was backed by the Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AAMFI), the African Union Development Agency–NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD), and the African Union Commission, among others. A cooperation framework agreement is expected to be signed on the sidelines of the summit, further solidifying institutional coordination and governance arrangements.

The establishment of the facility represents a continuation of earlier initiatives aimed at strengthening Africa’s infrastructure financing ecosystem. In late 2025, AAMFI and AUDA-NEPAD had announced the creation of a USD 1.5 billion infrastructure financing platform to accelerate projects across the continent, with initial funding commitments and project preparation financing included.

Across Africa, infrastructure investment remains a central development challenge and opportunity. African leaders have repeatedly highlighted the need for home-grown financing solutions that can scale investment while reducing dependency on external aid or sporadic loans. The AIF is positioned as part of this broader effort, with its design to bridge project preparation, financing, and implementation phases under a unified framework.

Officials at the summit underlined that the facility will play a role in accelerating the implementation of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), boosting regional integration, and attracting private capital into infrastructure delivery. The initiative comes amid ongoing debates on how best to finance Africa’s development goals and strengthen economic resilience.

The first phase of the AIF will focus on identifying priority projects and building investment pipelines, with discussions ongoing on how best to integrate public, private and institutional capital sources to achieve impact at scale.