Africa Launches Landmark Green Industrialisation Framework With $100 Billion In New Commitments
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 8 September 2025 - African leaders have this morning witnessed the signing of a Cooperation Framework in support of Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative (AGII) towards the mobilisation of over $100 billion to support Africa's green industrial opportunity. The signing ceremony, on the sidelines of the second Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was accompanied by financial commitments from the continent’s top banking institutions, marking the most ambitious step yet to transform Africa’s resources, renewable energy, and industrial potential into a climate-smart growth engine.
The framework transforms AGII, first announced at COP28 and anchored in the Nairobi Declaration of 2023, into an actionable plan. It is designed to accelerate renewable-powered industries, expand regional value chains, and establish Africa as a global hub for sustainable trade.
Commitments announced at the launch include the mobilisation of over $100 billion by the African Development Bank (AfDB), Afreximbank, Africa50, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), KCB Group, Equity Bank, Standard Bank Kenya, Ecobank and the AfCFTA Secretariat. Together, these institutions will mobilise sustainable finance, align regulatory frameworks, and unlock technical expertise to deliver climate-smart industries and millions of new jobs.
The signing marks a historic moment. It is designed to transform Africa’s vast resources, renewable energy potential, and youthful workforce into engines of climate-smart industrial growth. It sets out a clear plan to build renewable-powered industries, expand regional value chains, and establish Africa as a global hub for sustainable trade.
The AGII framework is designed for speed and impact and seeks to ensure commitments translate into concrete projects. Its priority actions include:
- Mobilising capital at scale by leveraging Africa’s financial institutions and attracting global investment.
- Powering renewable-driven industrial clusters to anchor new green value chains in areas such as critical minerals, green fuels, and battery manufacturing through a joint project preparation and development platform.
- Aligning policies and standards across borders to boost trade under the AfCFTA and cut barriers to industrial integration.
- Promoting knowledge transfer and skills development to prepare Africa’s workforce for the digital and circular economies.
The signing comes at a critical moment for global climate action. With demand for clean technologies, green energy, and critical minerals soaring, AGII positions Africa not as a supplier of raw materials but as a manufacturer, innovator, and shaper of tomorrow’s markets. By combining finance, technology, and policy coordination, the initiative demonstrates African leadership and ownership in shaping the global energy transition.
H.E. William S. Ruto, President of Kenya, said: “Earlier this year, I convened our leading financial institutions to shape together the path for delivery on the AGII mission. I am very pleased that, in only a few short months, we have moved from conversation to concrete collaboration, which we formalise today. United with our financial institutions, our energy systems, our trade corridors, and with partners working in solidarity with us, we can anchor inclusive and globally competitive green value chains. In doing so, we claim Africa’s rightful place in the modern economy, not as a source of raw commodities, but as a continent of innovation, industry, and growth.”
H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary General, AfCFTA Secretariat, said:“We are here today to move from declaration to demonstration. To focus on the political, financial, and institutional levers that will accelerate Africa’s green transformation. We are starting with our own resources. Today’s signing of the African DFI Cooperation Framework is historic. By mobilising African capital first, we change the dynamic. We show the world we are not applicants, but investment partners inviting global capital to join an initiative that is already underway, structured and de-risked by Africa itself. Our focus is not isolated projects, but full ecosystems, industries that will anchor Africa’s future value chains. Africa is not waiting. We are no longer recipients of external blueprints. We are architects of our own green future, demonstrating African leadership and ownership.”
Paul Russo, KCB Group CEO, said: “As a sustainable institution, we have prioritised green growth and deliberately focused on accelerating renewable energy-based industrialization, as envisioned by the Africa Green Industrialization Initiative (AGII) cooperation framework. Achieving this vision requires all hands on the deck to provide both financial and non-financial solutions at scale. This is where institutions like KCB Group come in. We recognise that our role goes beyond being a financial intermediary. We are enablers of Africa’s transformation. KCB is therefore committed to aligning its interests with partner institutions to support AGII.”
Mr. Alain Ebobissé, Chief Executive Officer, Africa50: An energy infrastructure project involving collaboration between the public and private sectors, has been identified as the flagship project for the Africa Green Industrialization Initiative (AGII) — aiming to unlock green industrialization via improved access to renewable electricity. This project involves a 177 km 400 kV Lessos–Loosuk line and a 64 km 220 kV Kisumu–Kakamega- Musaga line, plus concomitant substations. Led by Africa50, and its partner PowerGrid, this marks Kenya’s—and indeed Africa’s—first Independent Power Transmission (IPT) financed under a PPP model, with an estimated cost of USD 313 million. It is expected to facilitate green industrialization by enabling the evacuation and distribution of renewable energy across Kenya’s grid, especially from geothermal and wind sources. It will also create jobs locally, and skills development through capacity building.
Dr James Mwangi, Equity Bank: We will commit 1B USD, of our 6B USD already committed to the Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan, towards the project financing pipeline of the AGII, to be deployed as local currency to support the projects.
Haytham ElMaayergi, Executive Vice President Global Trade Bank, Afreximbank “This moment is about securing for Africa’s people access to cleaner energy, stronger industries, and dignified jobs that will define our future. The Africa Climate Summit and the African Green Industrialization Initiative provide a continental platform to turn aspiration into action. Afreximbank is already financing renewable energy, green industrialization, and resilience projects across Africa, and will continue to scale these efforts by providing guarantees, trade solutions, and capital that empower governments and businesses to deliver sustainable growth and lasting impact for communities across the continent.”
The framework is designed to move in lockstep with the Accelerated Partnership for Renewables in Africa (APRA), launched at the first Africa Climate Summit and now headquartered in Nairobi. APRA targets 300 GW of renewable energy by 2030. Combined, AGII and APRA provide a dual track, delivering the clean power and the industrial transformation needed to drive inclusive, sustainable growth.
Notes to Editors
About AGII
The Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative (AGII) is a strategic and collaborative framework that seeks to drive a pan-African transformation by supporting green industrialisation across the continent. It goes beyond individual projects to address economic development through climate-positive growth, and emphasises Africa’s unique potential, as outlined in the 2023 African Leaders Nairobi Declaration, to serve both the continent and global communities by decarbonising industries. With a strong foundation in regional integration and resource quality, AGII aims to harness Africa’s competitive advantages, including vast renewable energy resources and critical minerals essential for the global energy transition. Championed by Kenya and supported by African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat,
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Category: Press Release