International financial institutions are playing an increasingly important role in Africa’s mining sector, providing essential capital and technical assistance to unlock the continent’s vast mineral potential. Last month, Angola became the sovereign shareholder of the African Finance Corporation (AFC) through a $184.8 million equity investment. This milestone builds on more than $1 billion in AFC financing that Angola has already received, including for the Lobito Corridor, an integrated logistics project linking Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Institutions such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), African Development Bank (AfDB), and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (ERBD) are actively financing mining projects across the continent. Africa Mining Week (AMW), Africa’s first gathering for African mining stakeholders scheduled for October 1-3, 2025 in Cape Town, will therefore showcase strategic moves by Africa’s mineral-rich countries to strengthen cooperation with global financial institutions. A dedicated panel titled “Investor Perspective – Financing Africa’s Minerals Industrialization” will discuss the state of investment in Africa’s minerals industrialization.
In May, Algeria formally joined the New Development Bank, a multilateral organization established by BRICS countries, giving the country greater access to capital and technical assistance for its oil, gas and mineral industries. In the same month, Benin, Ivory Coast and Nigeria, one of Africa’s largest gold producers, were designated by the EBRD as beneficiary countries, increasing access to finance for energy and mining projects.
Meanwhile, Africa’s largest gold producer, Ghana, recently joined Nigeria and Angola in completing a stake in the soon-to-be-established African Energy Bank. Led by the African Petroleum Producers Organization and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the bank will act as a dedicated financing vehicle for extractive sector projects in Africa.
In March 2025, Somalia will also become Afreximbank’s 53rd member state, which is expected to open new financing channels for the country’s gold mining and trade-related developments. In 2024, Ivory Coast and Botswana, the world’s largest diamond producers, joined the AFC as sovereign shareholders, and Libya became Afreximbank’s 53rd member state.
Expanding efforts to link financial innovation and mineral sector development, the AfDB has approved a $150 million senior loan to Mauritania’s state-owned mining company, Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière (SNIM). The funding will support a $467 million logistics expansion program aimed at doubling SNIM’s iron ore rail transport capacity by 2030 and expanding production of high value-added products such as iron ore pellets. The project integrates renewable energy through the construction of a 12 MW solar power plant and also includes climate action underpinned by the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme.
Amid these developments, AMW brings together African policymakers and global investors, strengthening existing investment partnerships and building new investment partnerships aimed at maximizing the potential of the continent’s extractive sector.
