Proparco Commits €300 Million to Back AXIAN’s Digital and Clean Energy Push Across Africa
French development finance institution Proparco has announced a EUR 300 million financing commitment to support AXIAN Group’s digital and energy operations across Africa. The deal was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding signed with AXIAN Energy and its digital subsidiary Yas at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi.
The three-year agreement positions Proparco as a strategic financing partner for AXIAN’s continental expansion, targeting sustainable telecoms infrastructure, renewable energy production, and decentralised power solutions across underserved markets.
On the digital side, the partnership will focus on extending fixed and mobile broadband networks in rural and underconnected areas, developing data centres to strengthen local storage and processing capacity, and supporting African-led digital services including artificial intelligence applications.
The energy component covers investments in solar, wind, and hydropower projects alongside battery storage systems and telecom energy services aimed at improving the energy efficiency of digital infrastructure. The collaboration will also include electricity transmission and distribution upgrades, mini-grid solutions for rural electrification, and electric mobility and charging infrastructure rollout.
Financial inclusion sits alongside infrastructure as a stated priority. The partners will work to expand access to mobile money, microcredit, insurance, and savings products, and aim to improve financing access for startups and innovative businesses across the continent.
The agreement additionally commits the partners to joint project development, technical knowledge sharing, and cooperation on ESG standards, climate resilience, and impact measurement frameworks.
“Access to digital services and energy is a cornerstone of sustainable development and a powerful lever for economic transformation in Africa,” said Françoise Lombard, Proparco CEO. “Through this partnership with Yas and AXIAN Energy, we aim to accelerate investments in resilient infrastructure that delivers tangible impact for the African people.”
AXIAN Group CEO Hassanein Hiridjee said the two sectors were inseparable in the African context. “Digital and energy access are not separate stories; they are the same story of social inclusion and economic opportunity. This partnership gives us additional means to scale solutions that already serve tens of millions of Africans.”
AXIAN currently operates across telecoms, energy, financial services, and real estate in more than a dozen African markets.
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