DFC Raises Global Investment Capacity to $205 Billion From $60 Billion
Key Facts
The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has raised its investment capacity to $205 billion, from $60 billion before its reauthorization in December 2025, in a global expansion spanning multiple sectors and regions, not just Africa. The agency said the new ceiling allows it to finance technology, energy and critical minerals projects in most international regions. The change comes as Washington seeks to diversify strategic-material supply chains. DFC Chief Executive Ben Black said the new authority gives the agency greater scope to deploy a range of financing tools. Those tools include loans, equity investments and insurance, according to the agency.
DFC’s investment commitments across Africa have exceeded $14 billion, including more than $3 billion for critical minerals or related projects, Reuters reported in October, citing the agency’s regional director. The official said DFC has African equity projects under consideration, and that direct investment could be used alongside other financing tools or instead of them in cases of strategic importance. This points to a potential expansion of the agency’s role from financing projects through loans and insurance to taking ownership stakes. In September, DFC announced an investment of up to $155 million in African digital infrastructure company WIOCC. The investment reflects the use of equity authority in a sector beyond mining.
DFC’s board announced on February 20, 2026, that it had approved priority investments in Africa to strengthen energy and critical minerals supply chains. The agency said the expanded mandate removed geographic restrictions in strategic sectors, strengthened its authority to make equity investments and established a revolving equity fund. Approval of investment priorities alone, however, does not mean transactions have been completed; the agency said details had not been disclosed and that the investments remained subject to pre-commitment and closing procedures, including congressional notification. DFC said the higher ceiling was part of a broader package of expanded authorities, not simply an increase in financing available for African projects. The steps show that converting investment capacity into actual financing involves separate approval and execution stages.
Black said in July that the project pipeline rebuilt by the agency since its reauthorization included more than 340 investment opportunities with a total value of $78 billion. He added that DFC had cut its average investment time by 10 weeks as of July 15. The pipeline indicates the scale of work under development, while commitments and closings are separate measures of funds deployed in specific projects. In the same remarks, Black said the agency had committed $1.5 billion across Africa since his confirmation. He cited a $553 million loan to rehabilitate the Lobito railway as one example of those commitments.
The Lobito project covers a corridor linking mineral-rich areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to Angola’s Port of Lobito. DFC said its $553 million loan finances the upgrade and rehabilitation of more than 800 miles, or 1,300 kilometers, of railway, as well as the rehabilitation of the mineral port. The work aims to increase transport capacity from 0.4 million metric tons a year at the end of 2024 to 4.6 million tons after the investments are completed. The agency expects the project to cut shipping costs for mineral exports by 30% and reduce transit times by an average of 29 days. Black said the project could lower shipping costs by up to 30%, linking infrastructure financing to the goal of facilitating the movement of African minerals to markets.
The critical minerals portfolio includes projects at different stages of development. In February, DFC said shipments of about 100,000 tons of Congolese copper designated for the United States had begun, with plans to sell and ship an additional 50,000 tons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The agency also announced that it had closed its $600 million investment in the Orion Critical Minerals Consortium by January 2026; the public-private partnership is valued at $1.8 billion and aims to invest in critical minerals projects in eligible countries. By contrast, the agency’s commitments to rare earth projects in Malawi, Angola, Madagascar and South Africa totaled $62.8 million as of August 19, and none of those projects had reached production at that time. About $50 million of the financing went to the Phalaborwa project in South Africa.
Commercial risks continue to limit some African projects’ ability to attract private capital. A Reuters report said private-sector investors were reluctant to fund rare earth projects because of high risks and concerns that China’s market intervention could undermine prices and project economics. Those concerns put public financing in a supporting role for projects that may not attract private investors on their own, according to the report. But DFC’s expanded capacity of $205 billion does not specify how much will go to Africa or critical minerals, since the mandate spans multiple regions and sectors. Projects moving from the pipeline to actual commitments and closings, including the African equity projects that the regional director said were under consideration, will remain an indicator of the direction of financing deployment.