Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) (www.AfricaFC.org), the continent’s leading infrastructure solutions provider, together with Alstom, a pioneer in sustainable mobility, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to propel the development of the MetroKin rail project Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. This significant partnership was announced alongside the recent state visit of His Excellency Félix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, to France.

The partnership builds on AFC’s prior agreement with Trans Connexion Congo (TCC) to develop a mass transit system that extends over 300km of railroad in Kinshasa, the most populous city in Africa. The project will unfold in four phases, starting with the overhaul of a 25km stretch from Kinshasa’s central station to N’Djili International Airport, completely upgrading the existing railway.

AFC has committed an initial investment of US$3 million to advance the project development phase, leading to financial closure. As the Mandated Lead Arranger, AFC is spearheading this transformative urban project.

Alstom’s involvement as a strategic industrial partner supports the broader goal of enhancing urban mobility across Africa. Drawing from its experience in South Africa’s urban train systems and regional projects like Dakar’s express train and Abidjan’s first metro line, Alstom is set to significantly contribute to Kinshasa’s transit overhaul.

Kinshasa faces critical transport infrastructure challenges, exacerbated by rapid population growth and inadequate development. The current transportation system meets less than half of the daily demand, according to the city’s urban transport master plan. This project aims to expand and modernize the existing rail network, improving connectivity, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and significantly cutting transportation times between the suburbs and city center.

Amadou Wadda, Senior Director of Project Development&Technical Solutions at AFC, said: “We are pleased to welcome a global institution of high repute like Alstom to the project. Their expertise will be crucial as we push forward with this project, which promises to reshape Kinshasa’s economic landscape, create numerous jobs, and transform lives.”

Erick Onepunga Yongo, Managing Director of MetroKin said: “Under the lead of AFC, with the support of Alstom and the Congolese government, the materialisation of this project becomes effective through the project company MetroKin.SA”.

Bernard Peille, Managing Director at Alstom for Africa stated: “Through our enhanced presence in the region, Alstom is committed to partnering with MetroKin to support the development of an effective mass urban transit solution for Kinshasa. We aim to contribute to the city’s development ambitions by leveraging our global expertise and supporting its citizens in their mobility needs.

The project has reached significant milestones, with Alstom joining at a crucial time when detailed technical designs are being finalized. The combined strengths and shared vision of AFC, Metrokin, and Alstom are set to ensure the successful completion of the development phase by the end of 2024.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).

For media inquiries, please contact:
Yewande Thorpe
Communications
Africa Finance Corporation
Phone: +234 1 279 9654
Email: yewande.thorpe@africafc.org

Charlyne Garcias
Alstom – Northern and Central Africa
Phone: + 33 6 58 64 19 31
Email: charlyne.garcias@alstomgroup.com

Samantha Kamba
Head of Communications
Metrokin S.A
Phone:+243859094050
Email: mandungu.samantha@tcc-metrokin.com

About AFC:
AFC was established in 2007 to be the catalyst for private sector-led infrastructure investment across Africa. AFC’s approach combines specialist industry expertise with a focus on financial and technical advisory, project structuring, project development, and risk capital to address Africa’s infrastructure development needs and drive sustainable economic growth.

Seventeen years on, AFC has developed a track record as the partner of choice in Africa for investing and delivering on instrumental, high-quality infrastructure assets that provide essential services in the core infrastructure sectors of power, natural resources, heavy industry, transport, and telecommunications. AFC has 43 member countries and has invested US$13 billion across Africa since inception.

www.AfricaFC.org

About Alstom:
Alstom commits to contribute to a low carbon future by developing and promoting innovative and sustainable transportation solutions that people enjoy riding. From high-speed trains, metros, monorails, trams, to turnkey systems, services, infrastructure, signalling and digital mobility, Alstom offers its diverse customers the broadest portfolio in the industry. With its presence in 63 countries and a talent base of over 80,000 people from 175 nationalities, the company focuses its design, innovation, and project management skills to where mobility solutions are needed most. Listed in France, Alstom generated revenues of €16.5 billion for the fiscal year ending on 31 March 2023.

For more information, please visit www.Alstom.com.

About Metrokin S.A:
Metrokin is a limited company under Congolese law, with 3 main shareholders: Trans  Connexion Congo (TCC), the SCTP and the City of Kinshasa. With its 4 phases in a city of over 17 million inhabitants, it is the ideal response to the short- and long-term problem of mobility in Kinshasa.

– The central station at N’djili international airport is the 1st phase, 25km long,

– The Kinsahsa plain (“maillage”) is the 2nd, 75km long,

– The Kinshasa city loop, 90km, is the 3rd phase,

– From the airport to Malaku 80km is the 4th.

www.TCC-Metrokin.com

TotalEnergies has reached a milestone of 2 GW of installed green electricity in France, having invested $400 million towards the domestic supply of green energy in 2023. According to a company statement, the French supermajor generated up to 90% of its total income from the sale of oil and gas in 2023, showcasing the critical role of hydrocarbons in diversifying the global energy mix and increasing renewable energy penetration.

In Africa, TotalEnergies is a key advocate for sustainable energy development, spearheading a multi-energy approach that targets energy security and distribution to local and regional markets. The company continues to invest heavily in Africa’s oil and gas resources – through large-scale projects like the Akpo West Field Development in Nigeria and planned Mozambique LNG facility – while accelerating renewable penetration in Egypt, Burkina Faso, Uganda, South Africa and Angola, among many other markets.

The African Energy Chamber (AEC), as the voice of the African energy sector, commends TotalEnergies for its renewable energy milestone in France and its efforts to address energy poverty through the integration of oil, natural and renewables in Africa. Strategies for advancing Africa’s energy security and industrialization, while promoting a just energy transition, will be unpacked at this year’s edition of the African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energy conference in Cape Town.

In 2023, TotalEnergies allocated $16.8 billion across its global operations, with 35% directed towards low-carbon energies. This investment led to a rise in the company’s renewable energy capacity by 6 GW, contributing to a total generation of 33 TWh of electricity, of which 19 TWh came from renewables. Looking ahead, TotalEnergies plans to invest over $4 billion annually in renewable energy, targeting 35% of total power generation from renewables by 2025. Additionally, the firm reduced its emissions by 24% in 2023 compared to 2015 levels, demonstrating its tangible commitment to deploying sustainable practices.

In Africa, TotalEnergies is leading its flagship Solarization project, with over 1,000 service stations powered by solar technology in the project’s first phase and plans to power over 4,200 service stations across the continent. In South Africa, TotalEnergies is developing a combined 260 MW solar and wind project in Northern Cape Province, as well as a transformative hybrid renewables project that integrates a 216 MW solar plant with a 500 MWh battery storage system. In Mozambique, the company is leading a landmark 1,500 MW hydropower project on the Zambezi River, while co-developing a 120 MW solar PV plant in Uganda.  

Beyond traditional renewables, TotalEnergies is investing in a multi-phase green hydrogen project in Mauritania, in partnership with Chariot Energy, leveraging over 10 GW of solar and wind capacity. The major also recently announced it is partnering with the Tunisian Government to study the implementation of a large-scale green hydrogen project – “H2 Notos” – for export to Central Europe through pipeline. Furthermore, TotalEnergies is contributing to the Morocco-UK Power Project, which aims to develop 11.5 GW of renewable energy in Morocco for both local and European markets.

To support global renewable penetration and enhanced energy security in Africa, TotalEnergies’ sustained investments in African oil and gas are essential. In Angola, the company and its partners recently approved a $6-billion investment for the development of the Cameia and Golfinho fields, set to boost the country’s oil production and GDP, generating capital for the development of renewable energy projects like the 35 MWp Quilemba Solar PV plant. TotalEnergies is also investing $600 million to enhance exploration and production in the Republic of Congo’s Moho Nord field, while driving environmental sustainability through projects like the BaCasi initiative, which will plant a 40,000-hectare forest on the Batéké Plateaux and eliminate more than 10 million tons of CO2 over 20 years.

“A diversified, integrated energy future is crucial for the development of Africa’s economy and energy security. TotalEnergies continues to play a vital role in advancing the continent’s oil and gas sector, in tandem with accelerated renewable deployment, to ensure a just transition. We commend TotalEnergies on its efforts to diversify the global power mix while investing and believing in the magnitude of Africa’s energy resources,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

AEW: Invest in African Energy is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event.

Host country, Kenya contributes $20 million to Bank’s concessional financing window; pledges increased equity contribution; The African Development Bank: a Solutions Bank, at the heart of Africa’s transformation agenda.

With $200 billion invested in development projects across the continent since its establishment in 1964, the African Development Bank Group is leading the charge in transforming Africa’s development landscape, as a solutions bank.

At the institution’s 2024 Annual Meetings in Nairobi, six African Presidents joined the Group’s President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina’s call for action to reform the global financial architecture to unlock more resources to scale up Africa’s economic transformation.

The Annual Meetings bring together the Bank Group’s governors representing 54 African countries and 27 non-African shareholders.

Kenya’s President William Samoei Ruto emphasized the need for change, saying, “Today, we assert that transforming the international financial architecture is imperative to give Africa a fair chance to turn its immense potential into opportunities to overcome multiple challenges and develop inclusively and sustainably.”

In a show of support for the Bank’s efforts, President Ruto announced that Kenya will spend $100 million over the next three years to increase its shareholding in the African Development Bank, Afreximbank and Trade Development Bank. Additionally, he announced a commitment of $20 million to the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional window, “as a demonstration of Kenya’s confidence [in the Fund].”

President Ruto praised the commitment of the Bank Group to infrastructure development in Kenya, saying, “Kenya is among the beneficiaries, in a very big way, of the African Development Bank’s financial might, and its innovative financing of projects.”

He cited four Bank Group-financed projects as testament to this commitment: the construction of the Nairobi–Thika Superhighway; the construction of the Thwake Multipurpose Dam, Kenya’s biggest; the completion of water and sanitation projects in 28 Kenyan cities, and a last-mile connectivity project that has provided electricity to more than 10 million households.

Vote of confidence

President Ruto also expressed Kenya’s support for the channeling of IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) through multilateral development banks, a move that the African Development Bank together with the Inter-American Development Bank has championed, with success.

Several heads of state attended the opening ceremony of the Annual Meetings on Wednesday and participated in subsequent presidential dialogues. They included President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, the President of the Presidency Council of the Government of National Unity of the State of Libya Mohamed Younis al-Menfi, Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, and African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat.

Close to 5,000 delegates are attending the Bank’s Annual Meetings, including heads of multilateral development banks, diplomats, development partners, representatives of civil society organizations and the private sector.

In his keynote address, Adesina highlighted the impact of the Bank’s investments across Africa through its High 5 priorities of Light up and Power Africa; Feed Africa; Integrate Africa; Industrialize Africa and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa. Over the last eight years, the Bank’s investments have impacted more than 400 million people

Record investments

“In 2023, our financing totalled over $10 billion, across all our High 5 priorities,” he said, adding, “In the past nine years, we have invested well over $50 billion in infrastructure projects on the continent, by far the largest investment of any multilateral development bank or institution.”

Adesina listed several innovative initiatives to demonstrate the Bank’s role as a catalyst for change, driving Africa’s transformation through record investments and partnerships. He highlighted the $10 billion Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA), a groundbreaking partnership with Africa50 and the African Union, aimed at accelerating the development of sustainable infrastructure projects. This initiative is set to drive the continent’s transition towards a greener and more resilient future.

Adesina also emphasized the Bank’s commitment to supporting the digital economy, citing the $618 million i-DICE program in Nigeria, that will create 6 million jobs and add $6.4 billion to the economy.

Catalyzing Inclusive Development

The Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women (AFAWA), in partnership with the Africa Guarantee Fund, has financed more than 18,000 women-owned businesses, providing them with the capital and support needed to thrive in their respective markets. “By the end of this year, AFAWA would have reached $2 billion in support for up to 30,000 women-owned small and medium sized enterprises,” Adesina said.

Last year, the Bank established Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks to provide financial and technical support to businesses owned by youth. The Bank’s Board of Directors has already approved $16 million for Liberia and $12 for Ethiopia to set up Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks. More countries have applied to join the initiative.

In eleven African countries—Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, and Zambia—the Bank, together with partners, is establishing Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs), designed to transform Africa’s agricultural sector by creating value-addition hubs.

Mobilizing Financing, Deepening Reforms

Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, Islamic Development Bank Group President, outlined the benefits of a longstanding cooperation with the African Development Bank. “Between 2017 and 2023, we achieved a record co-financing volume of $2.9 billion with the African Development Bank, enabling us to co-finance 22 operations across diverse sectors,” he said, adding that both banks have recently set new co-financing targets, to deliver greater impact.

African Development Bank Group Boards of Governors’ Chairperson and Cabinet Secretary of the National Treasury of Kenya, Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u urged Governors to “deepen discussions” on growing the Bank’s callable capital. “This will protect the Bank’s triple A rating on sustainable basis against recurrent external shocks, including downgrade of its triple A rated shareholders [and] enable the Bank maintain its lending trajectory and preserve its position as a strategic lender and the premier development finance institution in Africa.”

The African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat described the 2024 Annual Meetings as “an appropriate forum” for kickstarting “the process of formulating and working out the African common position on strategic issues” such as the reform of the Bretton Woods system, debt management, climate change financing, and the international tax system.

Leaders also stressed the urgency of mobilizing financing to build climate-resilient African economies. The Bank, Adesina said, “is well on its way to reaching its goal of mobilizing $25 billion in climate finance, and last year we devoted 45% of our total lending to climate finance.”

Strong financial position for greater impact

The only AAA-rated financial institution in Africa, the Bank’s financial records for 2023 put the Bank in an optimal position to better serve Africa and create more significant impact in the continent’s development. Its income from loans and treasury investments increased by 123% from $775 million in 2022 to $1.73 billion in 2023. The Bank also achieved its largest-ever net income before distributions, amounting to $545 million, and allocated a record-high $335 million to reserves.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

Dr. Adesina’s speech: http://apo-opa.co/3RucXTx

Photos: http://apo-opa.co/3V0ufIB

Contact:
Toluwalope Ogunlesi,
Communication and External Relations Department,
media@afdb.org

About the African Development Bank Group:
The African Development Bank Group is Africa’s premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 41 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: www.AfDB.org

Africa is known for its generally youthful population. But is the continent truly harnessing this demographic dividend to its advantage?

This question was at the heart of a forum hosted by the Kenyan government on May 27 on the sidelines of the African Development Bank Group’s 2024 Annual Meetings in Nairobi. The panel discussion, titled “Harnessing Human Capital for Sustainable Growth and Development in Africa: Demographic Dividend and Circular Movement of Skilled Labour,” rallied experts to deliberate on the issue.

Prof Njuguna Ndung’u, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury, emphasized the importance of aligning skills development with emerging market opportunities to leverage human capital effectively. “If you don’t have human capital expertise, you are going to lag behind,” he said.

William Asiko, Rockefeller Foundation Vice President for Africa, highlighted Kenyan President William Ruto’s recent announcement that carbon credits will be Kenya’s next significant export by 2030. He noted that this initiative could create numerous jobs but stressed the necessity of developing the right skills to seize this opportunity. “Artificial Intelligence carbon markets are the big issues now. Can we develop these skills for the future?” he posed.

Martha Phiri, the Director, Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Division at the African Development Bank, shared the Bank’s new 10-year strategy, 2024-2033. She emphasized that a healthy, productive, and innovative workforce is essential for Africa’s transformation. “A workforce that can ensure food security, drive power plants, enhance transport connectivity, and foster industrialization is crucial.”

Phiri pointed out the importance of derisking youth participation in investments across the value chains. “We need to ensure we not only build the necessary skills for young people, but invest in their businesses, and enhance derisking instruments to ensure youth are seen as bankable.”

The private sector was identified as crucial for mobilizing resources for human capital development. The panel emphasized the need to establish instruments that encourage private sector participation to optimize growth. The discussions called for igniting the right policies and initiatives to bridge the resource gap, alongside policies that address the mismatch between skills taught in classrooms and what the labor market offers.

The event was moderated by Dr Rose Ngugi, Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).