The African Development Bank (AfDB) said on Wednesday that has secured a $350 million (JPY 44.1 million) loan from Japan to help finance the multilateral lender’s private sector operations through credit lines
AfDB said in a statement that the loan carries an interest rate of 0.11% and a repayment period of 30 years, with a grace period of 10 years. The contribution from the government development bank the Japan International Cooperation Agency comes under the joint initiative known as the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance Initiative for Africa (EPSA).
“This new arrangement which takes our collaboration forward, will build on the existing strong partnership we have had over the years and fits in firmly with the call and vision of our President Dr Akinwunmi Adesina to further strengthen our collaboration with Japan,” said Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala, the Senior Vice President of AfDB.
Japan’s development bank has signed seven non-sovereign loans totalling $1.5 billion to date. The loans, which are provided on concessional terms, have contributed to support 51 projects mainly credit lines and equity to regional development finance institutions, private equity funds and project finance for infrastructure public-private partnerships.
The Japanese government is one of AfDB’s biggest contributors. Last August, the heads of AfDB and JICA announced the fifth phase of EPSA from 2023-2025 and it has a joint target of $4 billion—$500 million more than EPSA 4.
