African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has signed a US$4.0 million project preparation facility with Proton Energy Ltd to advance feasibility studies for a 500-megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant in Sapele, Delta State, expected to unlock about US$300 million in assets when fully developed. The plant will start with an initial 150MW and sell most of its output to Eko Electricity Distribution Company under a 20-year, cost-reflective power purchase agreement. Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development, signed for Afreximbank, while Mr. Oti Ikomi, Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, signed for Proton Energy.
That Nigerian deal was one of four project preparation transactions concluded on the sidelines of the Bank’s 32nd Annual Meetings (AAM2025), held June 25–28 in Nassau, The Bahamas, where Afreximbank said the packages are expected to catalyse roughly US$1.0 billion in investments across the continent.
In Malawi, the Bank and NBS Bank Plc executed a Joint Project Preparation Facility Framework Agreement to co-finance early-stage work that will move projects from pre-feasibility to bankability across sectors such as energy, transport and logistics, special economic zones, manufacturing, agro-processing, tourism, minerals, ICT, healthcare and the creative economy. The framework embeds a capacity-building programme to empower NBS staff to handle project preparation, with about US$300 million of investments targeted in the near term.
Kenya also featured, with a US$4.4 million facility for Med Aditus Pharmaceutical Kenya Ltd to fund feasibility and bankability studies for a fill-and-finish plant in Kibos, Kisumu County. Designed to produce at least two billion tablets and capsules annually, the project aims to boost access to affordable, life-saving medicines across the Great Lakes region while enabling technology transfer including medical and manufacturing blockchain applications towards an estimated US$40 million in assets.
Meanwhile, Afreximbank signed Heads of Terms for another US$4.4 million preparation facility with Green Hybrid Power Pvt Ltd to develop a 1-gigawatt hybrid floating solar photovoltaic system on Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. Implemented in two phases, beginning with a 500MW pilot, the power will be sold to the Intensive Energy Users Group: blue-chip industrial and mining customers, under a 20-year take-or-pay agreement. The initiative is projected to mobilise about US$350 million, delivering affordable, reliable power to support mineral beneficiation and bolster foreign exchange earnings.
The meetings wrapped up with the Bank’s Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, which appointed Dr. George Elombi as Afreximbank’s next President, succeeding Prof. Benedict Oramah at the end of his second five-year term. AAM2025 attracted an estimated 8,000 participants, including presidents, prime ministers, ministers and business leaders from Africa, the Caribbean and beyond.
Afreximbank, a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade, reported total assets and contingencies of over US$40.1 billion and shareholder funds of US$7.2 billion as at Dec. 31, 2024. The Bank holds investment-grade ratings from GCR (A), Moody’s (Baa2), CCXI (AAA), JCR (A-) and Fitch (BBB-). It now operates as a group comprising the Bank, the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA) and AfrexInsure, and is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
 has signed a US$4.0 million project preparation facility with Proton Energy Ltd to advance feasibility studies for a 500-megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant in Sapele, Delta State, expected to unlock about US$300 million in assets when fully developed. The plant will start with an initial 150MW and sell most of its output to Eko Electricity Distribution Company under a 20-year, cost-reflective power purchase agreement. Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development, signed for Afreximbank, while Mr. Oti Ikomi, Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, signed for Proton Energy.){kind=link}