AFREXIMBANK (The African Export Import Bank)

72 (B) El-Maahad El-Eshteraky Street
Heliopolis
Cairo 11341
Egypt.

Postal Address: P.O. Box 613 Heliopolis, Cairo 11757, Egypt

Tel: +20-2-24564100/1/2/3; +20-2-24515201/2

Fax: +202-24564110; +202-24515008

Email: mail@afreximbank.com; info@afreximbank.com
 

The primary objective of Afreximbank’s Project Preparation Facility is the provision of support for all project preparation cycle activities including project definition, studies, advisory services, and project marketing and fundraising, specifically:

• To provide technical assistance in project identification, preparation and value-for-money feasibility studies with a view to making the projects bankable and attractive to investors;
• To increase the availability of viable well-prepared projects, by supporting project stakeholders to prepare high-quality projects;
• To leverage-off and partner with other project preparation facilities in the continent and beyond to support the preparation of projects in Africa;
• To enhance collaboration among project stakeholders and project financiers to facilitate the identification and mobilisation of project preparation financing; and
• To enhance the financial sustainability of project preparation for projects that will support Intra African Trade, stimulate industrialisation and enhance export development activities in the continent, by diversifying the sources and modalities of project preparation financing.

The activities eligible for financing under Afreximbank’s Project Preparation Facility include any technical or operational activity that is part of the preparation of projects. The primary strategic focus of the Facility is the provision of support for project preparation cycle activities including project definition, studies, advisory services, and project marketing and fundraising (further details of support provided are below).

The Project Preparation Facility will provide finance under the following terms:

• Instrument: Loan
• Maturity Profile: up to 3 years
• Repayment Profile: (i) Amortized; or (ii) Bullet; or (iii) Sculpted repayment
• Currency: USD or Euro or as approved
• Pricing: Fixed or Floating
• Source of Repayment: from incoming equity investors and / or debt financiers or any other mode agreed with the project sponsor;
• Credit Enhancement: Personal / Corporate / Bank / Sovereign Guarantee from the Project Sponsor(s), where applicable.
   

Minimum investment cost of US$ 30 million or equivalent in Euros. The Bank may on an exceptional, case-by-case, basis review projects with a lower investment cost.

Up to 30% of the project preparation funding application request with a cap of US$ 2.0 million per project application request.

• African governments
• Public Private Partnerships
• Private companies

Regional / cross-border; national; sub-national

Project definition: Activities include the provision of technical advice and assistance during the early stages of project cycle activities, such as the project identification, definition, scoping, preparation of Terms of Reference and budgets.

Studies: Activities include prefeasibility and market studies, feasibility studies, and detailed design studies. The PPF’s resources could be deployed to finance the preparation of new studies, updates of existing ones or undertaking of additional analysis to complement them. Preparatory studies may include technical designs, financial, economic, environmental and social impact assessments, and other related studies in order to improve the projects quality and enhance prospects for them to attract financing and investments for their implementation.

Transaction Advisory Services: Activities include advisory services for projects such as: (i) Due diligence, transaction analysis and project structuring/packaging and choice of optimal procurement method (public, private or Public Private Partnership) that achieves best value for money; and (ii) Pre-contract Services, including preparation and revision of tender documents, launching, processing and evaluation of bids, and contracts negotiations.

Project Marketing and Fundraising: Activities include technical assistance in the preparation and delivery of workshops, roadshows, seminars and conferences involving stakeholders, investors and lenders for better ownership as well as marketing with the aim of fund raising for the project implementation.

Other: The PPF can also support unforeseen preparatory activities unique to the targeted projects, provided that sufficient justification is provided.

Application for funding should include:

1. Details of the Project Sponsor: Name, Address, Contact Person, Email, Telephone Number.
2. Objective of the proposed activity: Outline briefly the objective(s) of the activity(ies).
3. Context/Background for proposed activity: Outline briefly the background and the context that is required for understanding the proposed activity(ies) (for instance history, geography, political, institutional and socio-economic context, legal and regulatory framework, key players in the sector, sector overview, listing of studies done to date and copies of the studies including the date the study was conducted.
4. Description of the proposed activity: Detail the specific activity for which PPF funding is being requested. Please attach the detailed terms of reference and detailed budgets or if not available, at least a project concept note. Also provide any supporting documentation (e.g., pre-feasibility studies or related studies).
5. Rationale for the activities: Summary of the key objectives of the proposed study and the relations between activities, outputs and achievement of the objectives. Why is the proposed activity(ies) the best measure to achieve the objectives?
6. Proposed Terms of Reference of what needs to be done up to financial close and the estimated cost for each (this should be linked to application / use of funds): Market, Technical, ESIA, Financial (including financial modelling), Economic (including economic modelling), Structuring etc
7. Financial and Economic Issues: Indicate the expected economic benefits of the project that the proposed activities for funding are preparing. This should as far as possible be supplemented with indications of the Economic Internal Rate of Return, Financial Internal Rate of Return, the Net Present Value and economic and financial recovery period of the project. (If such information is not available, please suggest how it can be provided)
8. Environmental and Social Issues: Describe the expected environmental and social impacts of the project being prepared, and the possible needs to mitigate adverse impacts. (If possible, indicate the number of people that will be positively affected by the intervention suggested. Also, indicate an outline assessment of the expected levels of environmental and social impacts (low, medium, high, not known). Please indicate if there will be carbon emission reductions associated with the project and an estimate (if available) of the amount in tons over the lifetime of the project).
9. Implementation Approach: Brief description of the implementation framework: (How would the preparatory activity be implemented, Who would be responsible for implementation (the executing agency, Project Management, Capacity for implementation etc.),
10. Implementation Schedule: Indicate a proposed timeline, beginning and end dates, as well as major activities’ milestones.
11. Project Structure: During Preparation; At Financial Close (Implementation and Operation)
12. Financing Plan: Present a summary of the financing plan by the major components (the detailed budget should provide further breakdown by these components). The figures are only indicative, the breakdown can be adjusted along with the processing and definition of the study. The financing plan should show the items to be financed by the PPF and the other sources of earmarked to finance the rest of the items. A detailed breakdown clearly outlining the following:
    a) Sponsor Contribution (source) to date & details of what was funded;
    b) Sponsor Contribution (source) to financial close & details of what is to be funded (application)
    c) Expected Source and Application of funds (summary of the above)
13. Additional Information: Include any additional information that may be useful in evaluating the PPF application (e.g., all upstream preparatory activities which may have been undertaken; planned downstream activities; etc.).

Eligible Entities and Countries:

• Entities in "Participating States", namely, those States which directly or through a designated entity or agency have subscribed to the Afreximbank’s share capital and/or whose Governments have signed or signed and ratified or acceded to the Bank Agreement;
• Shareholders of Afreximbank in Non-Participating States;
• Non-shareholders in Non-Participating States will be financed only to the extent that such financing will be used to support projects from a "Participating State" or projects from a Shareholder in a Non-Participating State in Africa; and
• Diaspora community known as the “55th African State.”

Projects must be supported by sponsors with a relevant track record and capacity to inject at least 30% of the project preparation cost.