Angola has officially joined the shareholding structure of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) by investing $184.8 million, thereby becoming a sovereign shareholder of the pan-African institution.
With this investment, Angola takes a major step forward in its strategy for economic diversification and continental cooperation. This contribution strengthens both its influence within pan-African development financing mechanisms and its representation among Lusophone countries.
Announcing the deal, AFC President and CEO Samaila Zubairu welcomed the move as “an important step” toward more balanced representation of African states within the institution.
He emphasized that this participation reflects a strategic alignment between Angola’s national development ambitions and the pan-African investment model promoted by the AFC.
For her part, Angolan Finance Minister Vera Daves de Sousa described the investment as “a vote of confidence” in the AFC’s track record, stressing the institution’s crucial role in financing infrastructure, industrial, and energy projects, which are central to Angola’s economic diversification efforts. She highlighted the Lobito Corridor—a regional transport network led by the AFC connecting Angola to Zambia and the DRC—as a concrete example of this cooperation.
This investment follows Angola’s accession to the AFC in 2022 and adds to nearly $1 billion worth of projects already supported in the country. It also includes a previous $25 million contribution made earlier this year by Angola’s sovereign wealth fund.
With this operation, Angola becomes, alongside Cape Verde, the second Lusophone country to become a shareholder of the AFC, which has invested over $15 billion in 36 African countries since its creation in 2007. Based in Nigeria, the AFC currently includes 45 member states and operates primarily in the energy, natural resources, transport, industry, and telecommunications sectors.
