Modern Mining October 2025

not bear this out. He says Moody’s Analytics AfDB reports show Africa’s continental infrastructure default rate is the lowest in the world, at only 1.9%, while Western Europe and Asia stand at 4.6%, North America at 6.6%, and Eastern Europe at 12.4%. “Pension funds need to realise that recovery rates for infrastructure debt are often better than corporate debt,” says Njoroge. AFC president Samaila Zubairu says the report confirms that in Africa, capital to meet its infrastructure needs is available, but that the only challenge is mobilising it. “The problem is not absence of capital, but fragmentation and risk aversion,” he says. “We need to build aggregation platforms that syndicate institutional investors, commercial banks and sovereign funds, to mobilise at scale.” The growing recognition that infrastructure investment is key to unlocking Africa’s mining opportunity has seen AFC return as a strategic partner for Investing in African Mining Indaba 2026. “The approach of Investing in African Mining Indaba 2026 aligns perfectly with the AFC narrative that regional integration can drive a step change in the continent’s development,” says Nicholson. “Infrastructure and capital mobilisation are core to what we stand for, and to achieving progress for our industry and our continent.” Investing in African Mining Indaba 2026 is a crucial platform for shaping the future of mining on the African continent. It brings together governments, asset owners and industry leaders to turn insights into action. The event takes place from February 9 – 12, 2026 at the CTICC, Cape Town. n

Innovative financial partnerships can powerfully unlock Africa’s wealth for its own development.

wealth funds and public development funds. These represent an untapped source of investment that can help drive infrastructure development. The report notes that these domestic-capital assets remain heavily concentrated in low-risk, short-term assets, mainly government securities and money markets. This risk-averse approach crowds out investment in other areas. “Africa’s most strategic pool of long-term capital is not being put to work in support of its long-term transformation,” says Dr Rita Babihuga-Nsanze, one of the authors of the report. “This is due to a combination of regulator restrictions, shallow markets, capacity constraints and institutional governance models.” Commenting on the report, former Kenya central bank governor Patrick Njoroge says African infrastructure projects were sometimes perceived as risky investments, but that the data does

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