Africa Finance Corporation ( AFC ) has disbursed the first US$60 million tranche of a US$300 million corporate loan facility supporting the development of a 119-megawatt thermal power plant by Aksa Energy, in what will be Burkina Faso’s biggest power plant.

Burkina Faso has one of the world’s largest electricity access gaps. In a country of 24 million, only one in five people currently has access to electricity. The country currently imports approximately 60% of its power supply, leaving homes, businesses and industries vulnerable to supply disruptions and elevated energy costs, constraining industrialization and economic growth. Once operational in 2027, the facility will reduce dependence on imported electricity by more than 50% while significantly strengthening domestic generation capacity.

Aksa, Türkiye’s largest publicly listed independent power producer, carries out all power plant installation processes in-house, from project design to procurement, construction, and assembly.

“Africa’s path to industrialization and global competitiveness by 2050 depends on the infrastructure decisions we make today,” says AFC president and chief executive officer Samaila Zubairu.  “Reliable electricity is fundamental to economic transformation. Without dependable power, countries cannot industrialize, businesses cannot grow and communities cannot realize their full economic potential. Aksa shares our commitment to delivering the reliable energy infrastructure needed to power Africa’s industrial growth and long-term transformation.”

With operations in eight countries and over 3,500 megawatts of capacity, Aksa has built and operated more than 40 power plants using various energy sources such as natural gas, coal, diesel, fuel oil, hydroelectric, solar, wind and battery storage systems. The company has expanded abroad by establishing power plants in countries with growing energy needs, offering fast and reliable solutions across the sector.

The transaction marks AFC’s first investment in Burkina Faso. The financing builds on its US$150 million corporate loan facility to Aksa in 2025, which supported the company’s utility-scale gas-to-power projects in Senegal and Ghana, including a 255MW, brand-new combined-cycle gas power plant in Senegal designed to use domestic natural gas and deliver more reliable and lower-emission baseload power.

The investment further advances AFC’s broader strategy of strengthening national energy systems and enabling industrialization through partnerships with experienced private-sector developers delivering transformational infrastructure across Africa.

AFC was established in 2007 to be the catalyst for infrastructure and industrial investments across Africa. It has 48 member countries and has invested over US$19 billion in 36 African countries since its inception.