Africa Finance Corporation Raises $431M in First Digital Bond

March 24, 2025 — Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has successfully raised 350 million Swiss francs (approximately $431 million) through its inaugural digital bond, marking the first such issuance by an African institution on a regulated exchange and central securities depository. The five-year bond, carrying a 1.4925% coupon, drew 90% of investor demand from Swiss accounts. AFC will deploy the proceeds toward infrastructure financing projects across Africa, signaling growing institutional confidence in blockchain-based debt instruments within regulated markets.

Immediate Details & Direct Quotes

The landmark transaction was executed through Switzerland’s SIX exchange, utilizing its SDX digital platform for clearing and settlement. This represents a significant milestone as the first digital bond from an African institution processed through both a regulated exchange and central securities depository framework.

Investor distribution showed strong institutional participation, with banks and financial companies accounting for 57% of the order book, asset managers representing 37%, and hedge funds contributing 6%. International investors outside Switzerland made up the remaining 10% of demand.

The bond was issued under AFC’s $5 billion Global Medium-Term Note Programme, with Commerzbank AG serving as technical lead and Deutsche Bank AG’s London branch participating through its Zurich operation.

Banji Fehintola, AFC executive board member and head of financial services, emphasized the strategic importance of the digital format: “The digital format of this bond is not an end in itself but a signal of our commitment to being at the frontier of innovation in the capital markets as we continue to diversify and strengthen AFC’s funding base to support Africa’s development.”

Market Context & Reaction

This issuance represents one of the larger digital debt offerings completed through the Swiss platform, following UBS’s 375 million-franc digital bond in 2022. AFC positioned the deal as the largest Swiss franc-denominated digital bond from an international issuer to date.

AFC President and CEO Samaila Zubairu noted the transaction demonstrates sustained investor confidence in the institution’s credit profile. S&P Global rates AFC at A with a positive outlook, while Moody’s assigns an A3 rating with stable outlook.

The digital sale follows AFC’s return to international bond markets in July with a $500 million, five-year senior unsecured Eurobond. The corporation confirmed the digital issue secured funding within the pricing parameters of that earlier dollar benchmark.

The structure differs from open blockchain tokens, as AFC’s bond maintains ownership records on a regulated digital register using distributed ledger technology, with trading occurring on SIX Swiss Exchange and settlement handled through SIX SIS AG.

Background & Historical Context

AFC’s digital bond issuance concluded a pause in new digital bond activity on SIX, with German development bank KfW having completed the previous issuance in June 2025. The transaction followed Swiss regulator FINMA’s approval in May of structural changes to SIX’s digital asset operations, consolidating SDX into SIX SIS AG.

This consolidation placed traditional and digital securities services under one legal entity, with FINMA also approving crypto custody through the combined central securities depository.

The issuance marks AFC’s fourth and largest bond in Swiss francs, following a 150 million-franc green bond completed in 2020. Operating as a multilateral finance institution since 2007, AFC counts 48 African countries as members and has invested $19 billion across the continent in power, transport, telecommunications, natural resources, and heavy industry projects.

What This Means

The successful issuance demonstrates that regulated digital bonds can attract significant institutional capital while maintaining compliance with traditional securities frameworks. For African infrastructure financing, this could open new funding channels as AFC diversifies its capital sources.

U.S. financial institutions are pursuing similar regulated tokenization paths, with DTCC planning limited production transactions in July 2026 before a full tokenization service in October. SEC Chair Paul Atkins has clarified that blockchain representation doesn’t exempt instruments from securities rules.

For investors, this trend suggests growing convergence between traditional finance infrastructure and blockchain technology, potentially expanding access to African development projects through digital securities. CryptoSimplified reminds readers that digital bonds remain subject to regulatory oversight and this information should not be considered financial advice.

—