AFC seeks up to $5 billion global financing for Lobito Corridor project

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) is accelerating efforts to secure between $3 billion and $5 billion in global funding for the Lobito Corridor, a strategically positioned transport network designed to reshape mineral logistics across Southern Africa.

The Lagos-based multilateral lender is engaging at least ten financiers, including Citigroup and several African and international banks, as it moves toward a large-scale fundraising round expected later this year. The discussions mark one of the most ambitious infrastructure financing efforts currently underway on the continent.

Strategic rail linking copperbelt to atlantic markets

At the center of the project is a 1,300-plus kilometre rail and logistics corridor connecting mineral-rich regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to Angola’s Atlantic port of Lobito.

The infrastructure involves the rehabilitation of Angola’s Benguela Railway and its extension into key Copperbelt mining zones. The objective is straightforward but economically significant: reduce transit times, lower export costs, and create a faster westward corridor for copper and cobalt shipments critical to the global energy transition.

Osaruyi Orobosa, AFC’s deputy director for project development and investment, said lender interest is broad-based. “The banks want to come in… everyone wants to come in,” he said, noting that current engagements are focused on investor education ahead of formal capital raising.

Geopolitics and the race for critical minerals

The Lobito Corridor sits at the intersection of infrastructure finance and geopolitical strategy. Backed by the U.S. and European Union, the project is part of a broader push to secure access to critical minerals while reducing dependence on existing supply routes and external influence in African resource corridors.

The initiative also forms part of the G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment and the EU’s Global Gateway program, positioning it as a flagship alternative to China-linked infrastructure financing across the continent.

Concession framework and institutional backing

In 2023, the Lobito Atlantic Railway consortium, comprising Mota-Engil, Trafigura, and Vecturis, secured a 30-year concession to operate the rail line.

Development finance support includes the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, Germany’s KfW, the Saudi Export-Import Bank, and the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

Founded in 2007, AFC has invested more than $18.5 billion across 36 African countries, focusing on infrastructure gaps in transport, power, natural resources, and industrial development. The Lobito Corridor is emerging as one of its most geopolitically significant bets to date.