Benin and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have agreed on an indicative portfolio of $730 million for 2027-2028. The agreement, signed on September 24, is meant to serve as a framework for identifying and preparing future investments in energy, transport and climate resilience.

This amount does not represent funding that has already been fully approved or disbursed. The AIIB clarifies that selected projects will still need to go through preparation, due diligence and approval stages specific to each operation.

Policy-based funding

Of the $730 million envisaged, $250 million is expected to take the form of policy-based financing, aimed in particular at supporting the Benin Vision 2060. The portfolio may also mobilize AIIB instruments dedicated to energy, food security, economic resilience and climate finance.

The agreement was signed by Rajat Misra, AIIB Director General for Public Sector Clients, Region 1, and Hugues Oscar Lokossou, Minister Delegate for the Mobilization of External Resources and Debt Management. AIIB President Zou Jiayi and Aristide Medenou, Minister of Economy and Finance in charge of Cooperation, attended the signing.

Africa’s first multiyear pipeline

The AIIB presents this arrangement as its first multiyear pipeline of this kind in Africa. It extends the rapprochement with Cotonou in infrastructure financing.

This cooperation already rests on a first major commitment in transport. In December 2025, the AIIB signed a $200 million loan for the Grand Nokoué Sustainable Urban Mobility Project, part of an approximately $500 million program co-financed with other partners.