Remarks by Samaila Zubairu President & CEO, Africa Finance Corporation Lobito Corridor Private Sector Investment Forum: Opening Plenary Lusaka, Zambia Thursday, 8 February 2024

Samaila Zubairu
President & CEO | Africa Finance Corporation
Mr. Samaila Zubairu was appointed as AFC’s 3rd President and Chief Executive Officer in July 2018, ushering in a new era of leadership in accelerating development impact with the development and implementation of a five-year corporate strategy which at its core, addresses the urgent mandate of increasing energy access for Africans, driving sustainable development of natural resources, transport and logistics infrastructure, heavy industries, and improving telecommunications/ technology access. Key pillars of the strategy include: enhancing the capacity of the team and entrenching a high-performance culture; coherent ecosystem strategy for value-accretive beneficiation and import substitution; proactive risk and portfolio management to improve AFC’s credit profile and diversifying its funding sources.
As a result of the implementation of the strategic plan under Mr. Zubairu, AFC’s total assets have grown exponentially from US$4.1 billion when he joined to $10.6 billion (2022), and Total Comprehensive Income has nearly doubled from US$118 million (2018) to US$214 million (2022) despite the economic shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Zubairu was the CEO of Africapital Management Limited and Chief Financial Officer for Dangote Cement Plc, as well as the Treasurer for Dangote Group. While at Dangote, Mr. Zubairu was a key leader in funding the transformation of the trading group from to a pan African industrial conglomerate. He also worked at Liberty Merchant Bank Plc (banking subsidiary of the Dangote group), FSB Plc (now Fidelity Bank), Denham Management Company and Muhtari Dangana & Co (Chartered Accountants).
Mr. Zubairu is an Eisenhower Fellow and also sits on the Board of Trustees for the fellowship. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Nigeria (FCA). He holds a BSc in Accounting from Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria.

Remarks by Samaila Zubairu President & CEO, Africa Finance Corporation Lobito Corridor Private Sector Investment Forum: Opening Plenary Lusaka, Zambia
Thursday, 8 February 2024

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
OPENING PROTOCOLS
Your Excellency, President Hakainde Hichilema,
The Honourable Ministers from Zambia, Angola and the Democratic
Republic of Congo1
Amos Hochstein, Senior Adviser to the President of the United
States,
Representatives from our consortium partners, the European Union and the African Development Bank,
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, all protocols observed.

TALKING POINTS
It is a pleasure to co-host the Lobito Corridor Private Sector Investment Forum here in Lusaka today as the Lead Developer for a project that is historic and precedent-setting in its ability to not only structurally transform our Continent, but also deliver meaningful impact on a global scale. I am honoured to stand in partnership with all seven consortium parties, uniting our strengths to fulfil this shared vision.
This project represents a milestone for the Africa Finance Corporation—because it demonstrates the premise, and the staying power of our founding principle, that African project development expertise and African capital can be enablers to crowd-in global pools of public and private capital to meet Africa’s vast infrastructure needs.
This solutions-driven business model, demonstrated by our deployment of early-stage risk capital to develop and de-risk projects and attract global investment, has led us to several firsts in our 16-year existence, and is already playing a critical role in mobilizing the investment needed to execute Lobito II.
You have heard today from Deputy CEO Nisha Biswal that the U.S. Development Finance Corporation has committed $250 million in tier-2 capital to AFC for the development and distribution of catalytic projects on the Continent, such as this.
Our strategic partnership with the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment was established on the basis of our ability to be the African partner of choice to execute the vision of the Biden Administration and its G7 partners, which sees investing in global infrastructure as a cornerstone for economic prosperity and
stability.
So today is historic not just because of the ambition set by the consortium parties – to open and access rail from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. It is remarkable because of its speed. Because of the agility of the players, and the flexibility of the government and global institutions to accept that time is money, and that the urgency to act is essential to the success of our mission.
As I look at my watch, this date marks just over 13 months since our first meeting with PGI at the margins of the U.S. Africa Leaders’ Summit in December 2022, it marks eight months since we opened discussions with the Development Finance Corporation for catalytic financing, barely seven months since we held our first meeting with the G7 partners, less than four months since we signed the MoU in Brussels at the Global Gateway Forum, and finally, just one month into our procurement for the feasibility study. A speed which is a testament to the commitment and passion of everyone in this room today.

So, what will it take to succeed?
A continued focus on Execution and Impact.

To deliver on the vision set by all seven consortium parties, a solutions-driven and collaborative approach to stakeholder management will be required at all stages of execution.

Together, we must carve an accelerated path towards achieving a bankable concession agreement that accords due respect to host country laws. We must also accelerate the implementation of harmonized intra-African trade agreements that allow for efficient and unhindered border crossing, leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and other frameworks in the SADC region, such as the Lobito Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency Agreement (LCTTFA).

To succeed in the true sense of the word, this project must be executed through an impact-centered lens that is:
Fully committed to the highest environmental and social standards,
Fully committed to diversifying supply chains for critical minerals and significantly reducing the associated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the present architecture,
Fully committed to local empowerment,
Fully committed to optimizing agricultural value chains in the region,
Fully committed to the beneficiation of critical minerals along the copper belt, and
Fully committed to the protection of biodiversity in order to foster reforestation and advance eco-tourism in Zambia, Angola and the DRC.

CLOSING
In closing, my message to investors gathered here today is clear:
Invest early because this train is leaving the station.
Thank you.

Information and Media Minister Cornelius Mweetwa (Left)