SECTOR EXPERTISE

Power, Utilities and Infrastructure

Your partner in facilitating complex projects across the continent

We provide tailored financing solutions and expertise to meet Africa’s growing energy and infrastructure demands.

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TOTAL DEAL VALUE

R70bn +

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DEALS DONE

33 +

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THOUGHTS FROM OUR LEADERS

Powering up the African continent

One of the key factors inhibiting commerce and development in Africa is the inadequacy of world class infrastructure to support power, water, ICT and transport services – therein lies an enormous opportunity for firms operating in this sector.

Electric power has consistently attracted the largest portion of new capital in Africa. And yet the continent still only has an electrification rate of 30%, thus power remains a substantial area for potential growth. Beyond electricity, significant opportunities exist more broadly across infrastructure –  these include roads and rail networks, telecoms, ports & airports, healthcare and social infrastructure.

While the need is clear, the financing of these projects remains a challenge.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) estimates that Africa’s infrastructure requirements amount to between US$130 billion and US$170 billion per year – with a financing gap in the range of US$68 billion and US$108 billion. These figures are far higher than previous estimates.

As a leading pan-African financier, with an on-the-ground presence in 10 countries across the continent, we believe we have a key role to play in closing this gap.

At Absa CIB, we work with multinationals, developers, engineering, procurement and construction firms, equipment manufacturers and other stakeholders, and pride ourselves on having the necessary expertise to structure the complicated funding of large infrastructure projects in emerging markets – assisting our clients to navigate the associated risks to win in these territories.

We partner with you to make things happen.

Bhavtik Vallabhjee

Head: Power, Utilities & Infrastructure

Latest insights

A look at the factors driving infrastructure projects across the continent today.

POWER, UTILITIES & INFRASTRUCTURE INSIGHTS

What Africa’s Renewable Investment Wave Requires Most Is Design

There are established markets, and then there are conditions that precede them. Africa’s renewable energy sector finds itself suspended between the two – an area where assets have begun to accumulate, but where the mechanisms for scaled capital reallocation remain embryonic.

POWER, UTILITIES & INFRASTRUCTURE INSIGHTS

Africa Is Rewriting the Rules of Clean Power – As It Plays the Game

Africa holds a critical position in the global energy transition – both as a frontier for renewable deployment and as a proving ground for how legal and policy instruments can be used to mobilise capital at scale.

POWER, UTILITIES & INFRASTRUCTURE INSIGHTS

De-Risking Africa’s Renewable Energy Agenda

Every driver starts a long journey with the same question: am I prepared for potential issues? The spare tyre is checked, fluids topped up, and the route carefully mapped. Preparation is built in from the start, not improvised when conditions change.

EVENTS

Africa Energy Forum 2025

As a leading Pan-African bank, we are committed to utilising our unique investment, finance solutions and expertise to power the continent’s sustainable renewable energy transition.

PUBLIC SECTOR

Why Budget 2025 Must Reignite SA’s Industrial and Services Sectors

At the inception of South Africa's sixth administration in 2019, government took a bold decision to replace the annual Industrial Policy Action Plans (IPAPs) with sector-specific master plans.

RESOURCES AND ENERGY

Evolving Supplier Development Alongside the Future of African Mining

In the late '80s, Anglo American pioneered an innovative supplier development model in South Africa.

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