Southern Africa is set to gain a new pipeline of investment-ready infrastructure and industrial projects after the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) established a Joint Project Preparation Facility designed to help high-impact projects reach bankability.
Under the new framework, each institution can contribute up to US$10 million, creating a combined potential commitment of US$20 million for project preparation. The facility will support technical, financial and legal work needed to develop projects to standards suitable for investors and lenders.
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The agreement expands cooperation between two major African development finance institutions and comes after South Africa joined the Afreximbank Establishment Agreement in February 2026 as the bank’s 54th member state. At the time, Afreximbank also announced an US$8 billion Country Programme for South Africa.
The new facility builds on a Master Risk Participation Agreement signed by Afreximbank and DBSA in February, extending their cooperation from financing into the earlier stages of project development.
Through the Joint Project Preparation Facility, the institutions will jointly identify, assess and prioritise projects while supporting the feasibility, technical, financial and legal studies required to overcome barriers to investment.
Priority areas include power and energy, particularly energy transition projects, as well as transport and logistics, information and communication technology, strategic minerals beneficiation and other sectors aligned with national, regional and continental development priorities.
The initial focus will be South Africa and the wider Southern African region, with the framework allowing the partners to consider projects in other African countries where there is mutual strategic interest.
For Southern Africa, the project-preparation focus is significant because infrastructure investment often requires extensive technical and financial work before major funding can be mobilised. By supporting that preparation stage, the facility aims to create a stronger pipeline of projects capable of attracting public, private and blended finance.
Afreximbank Executive Vice President for Intra-African Trade and Export Development Kanayo Awani said the facility would help address the gap between infrastructure needs and the availability of projects prepared to meet investment requirements.
She said the partnership would combine Afreximbank’s focus on trade and industrialisation with DBSA’s infrastructure-development expertise, helping move priority projects from concept to investment readiness.
DBSA Chief Investment Officer Gregory Fyfe said the facility would strengthen the pipeline of bankable infrastructure and industrial projects while creating opportunities for greater public- and private-sector investment.
Projects developed through the facility may subsequently seek financing from Afreximbank or DBSA, while also being presented to private investors, other development finance institutions and commercial lenders. Any downstream financing would remain subject to separate appraisal and approval.
The partners will also collaborate on project origination, preparation, knowledge-sharing and portfolio monitoring, with the aim of accelerating projects toward implementation.
The initiative supports broader regional integration efforts, including the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Southern African Development Community, while also aligning with South Africa’s National Development Plan 2030.
By strengthening the preparation of projects in energy, transport, logistics, technology and industrial development, Afreximbank and DBSA are positioning project preparation as an important link between Africa’s infrastructure ambitions and the capital required to deliver them.