African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) have signed a Joint Project Preparation Facility (JPPF) Framework Agreement to develop a pipeline of bankable infrastructure and industrial projects across South Africa and the wider Southern African region.
Under the agreement, each institution can contribute up to $10 million, creating a combined facility of as much as $20 million. The funding will support technical, financial and legal work needed to move projects from concept stage to investment readiness.
Priority sectors include power and energy (with a focus on the energy transition), transport and logistics, information and communication technology, and strategic minerals beneficiation. Other sectors aligned with national, regional and continental priorities may also be considered. The initial geographic focus is South Africa and Southern Africa, with scope to expand to other African jurisdictions of mutual interest.
The JPPF complements a Master Risk Participation Agreement signed by the two institutions in February 2026 and extends their cooperation upstream into project preparation. It supports South Africa’s National Development Plan 2030, Southern African Development Community (SADC) integration, and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The agreement is one of the first operational steps following South Africa’s accession to the Afreximbank Establishment Agreement earlier in 2026, when the country became the bank’s 54th member state. At that time Afreximbank also announced an $8 billion Country Programme for South Africa.
Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President for Intra-African Trade and Export Development at Afreximbank, noted that Africa’s infrastructure challenge is not only a shortage of capital but also a shortage of projects prepared to the standard required by investors and lenders. Projects advanced through the facility may later seek financing from Afreximbank, DBSA or other sources, subject to separate assessments and approvals.
By jointly originating, screening and preparing projects, the two development finance institutions aim to reduce the gap between concept and bankable deals, helping mobilise additional public and private capital for trade-enabling infrastructure in the region.
