The IJInvestor Award for Financial Adviser of the Year in Africa went to the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) with judges lauding its success in region that has “unique challenges”.  

During the judging period, AFC was exclusive financial adviser on 24 projects valued at $18 billion, spanning critical sectors such as transportation, heavy industries, power, oil and gas, mining and telecommunications. 

The African operating environments faced significant economic headwinds over the judging period, including sovereign debt crises, government bond defaults, rising financing costs, inflation, and tighter liquidity conditions, all compounded by global geopolitical disruptions. Judges were impressed with the AFC’s team to focus on closing and implementing project with substantial and sustainable development impact in a challenging environment.  

The AFC has been active in several countries in the region, including, Angola, Ghana, Guinea, Zambia, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. 

As the submission puts it, the AFC unique structure as an institution with an intimate understanding of Africa risk allows us to navigate challenging situations with important clients and partners across key sectors. 

The financial adviser has leveraged intimate relationships with African governments, commodity traders, sponsors, regional and local banks, development financiers, contractors, equipment suppliers, credit insurance providers, export credit agencies and other key stakeholders to drive infrastructure projects towards financial close. 

One notable achievement during the period was acting as exclusive financial adviser on a $250 million sub-financing package for the pan-African energy and infrastructure company, Sahara Group. AFC’s solution innovatively leveraged Sahara’s strong balance sheet to support its commitments under a landmark $3.3 billion crude oil-backed prepayment facility for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). 

One judge said: “AFC has demonstrated a track record of success in a region which has suffered unique challenges with significant economic headwinds marking the review period, including sovereign debt crises, government bond defaults, rising financing costs, inflation, and tighter liquidity conditions, all compounded by global geopolitical disruptions. A broad range of transaction across sectors demonstrates success and market impact with some innovative structures advising African sovereign entities.”