The Fund for Export Development in Africa, the equity investment arm of the African Export-Import Bank, has expanded its membership base, with Senegal and Liberia formally acceding to the FEDA Establishment Agreement and Zimbabwe and Angola completing ratification, bringing the Fund’s total membership to 24 countries.
The milestones strengthen FEDA’s mandate across the continent and underscore its strategic role in closing Africa’s persistent equity funding gap, an area where the continent has historically lagged far behind debt financing in terms of available capital for growing businesses and large-scale industrial projects.
The accession of Senegal and Liberia, combined with ratification by Zimbabwe and Angola, gives FEDA a stronger foundation to support strategic industrial and critical mineral processing investment opportunities in these countries, spanning logistics, agro-processing, energy, manufacturing, financial services and strategic mineral processing.
FEDA’s expanding membership broadens the geographic scope of its interventions and strengthens its capacity to deploy long-term domestic capital toward transformative regional investments.
The Fund offers equity and patient capital to projects focused on economic diversification and export development, with longer investment horizons and higher risk tolerance, making it ideal for industrial and infrastructure projects with extended payback periods.
FEDA aims to expand its continental presence by collaborating with member states to identify investment opportunities that offer solid commercial potential and measurable development impact.
This includes mobilizing additional capital and forming partnerships with public and private investors to enhance investment in African businesses and strategic projects.
Dr George Elombi, President and Chairman of both the Board of Directors of Afreximbank and FEDA, framed the expanded membership as a signal of growing institutional trust among African governments.
“These latest membership milestones demonstrate the growing confidence of African governments in the institutions they own and control and their commitment to building strong institutions capable of mobilising and deploying African capital for Africa’s development,” Elombi said.
“As the Afreximbank Group pursues its African industrialisation agenda, FEDA’s equity and quasi-equity instruments will become critical to executing strategic industrial projects at national and regional levels. The growing membership of the fund will, therefore, help to catalyse such investments across the continent.”
Emmanuel Assiak, Chief Executive Officer of FEDA, pointed to the specific sectoral opportunities each new and ratifying member state presents.
“FEDA’s continued membership growth significantly expands the markets in which we can pursue our mandate and build stronger partnerships with governments and the private sector,” Assiak said.
“Senegal, Liberia, Angola and Zimbabwe each offer compelling opportunities for investment across strategic sectors of their economies. We look forward to translating this expanded footprint into investments that strengthen local and regional value chains, support competitive African businesses and deliver sustainable economic impact.”
The expansion comes as FEDA has dramatically scaled its investment capacity over recent years.
Afreximbank’s commitment to the Fund has surged from $100 million to $1.3 billion in five years, enabling FEDA to broaden its investment activities.
This thirteen-fold increase positions the Fund as a critical player in African equity financing, essential for the continent’s industrialization, particularly as traditional lenders are hesitant to provide the needed patient, risk-tolerant capital.
