How is AFG Bank supporting the growth of Mali's mining sector?

AFG Bank Mali is a leading financial partner to Mali's mining sector, and we are constantly tailoring our products and services to the needs of the industry. Alongside our long-standing support for mining sub-contractors, we have recently moved into greenfield project finance. A recent highlight is the Kobada gold project, for which we arranged $35 million in capex financing.

Our CFAF 100 billion Local Content Champion Program, dedicated to local suppliers and subcontractors, is another concrete example of that commitment. We are fully committed to turning the Malian Government's vision for the sector into tangible results. When it comes to developing the mining sector, we see ourselves as both a driving force and a catalyst for the wider Malian banking industry.

What key trends is AFG Bank noticing within Mali's mining sector in 2026, and how are they shaping the bank's strategy?

The 2023 reforms, namely the new Mining Code and the Local Content Law, run deep enough that we expect the sector to enjoy greater stability and legal certainty over the 2025–2035 decade. That is why, since the start of 2026, several projects led by juniors listed in Sydney, London and Toronto have got back on track, backed by a combination of gold streaming and local bank financing. We are also seeing African, and especially Malian, players take an increasingly active role in developing greenfield projects.

We expect this trend to continue and, over time, to bring dozens of junior-scale mines, each producing 50,000 to 100,000 ounces a year, into production. This is in line with what we see across the region: Burkina Faso, Guinea and Niger, among others, have also tightened their mining frameworks, increased state participation and raised local content requirements.

These trends are directly shaping our sector strategy. We are building in-house expertise to structure financing for junior and greenfield projects alongside international partners such as streamers, while continuing to strengthen the local supplier base these new mines will rely on.

What progress has AFG Bank achieved under its CFAF 100 billion Local Content Champion Program, and what are its next milestones?

The Local Content Champion Program is an AFG Holding initiative, launched in Mali on 27 October 2025. Our goal is to turn at least 30 local companies into national champions in mining services within three years. Almost a year in, we have disbursed 28% of the facility, with 33% of the program's timeline elapsed. Given our current pipeline, we expect to close that gap, and get ahead of schedule, before the end of 2026.

On the program's other two pillars, capacity building and business matchmaking, we have selected three partner advisory firms and are now rolling out this non-financial support, which is just as critical to the program's success as the financing itself. Overall, the program aims to support 150 local companies over three years and to create 2,000 direct jobs within these businesses by 2027.

Where along the mining value chain do you see the highest growth potential, and what financing mechanisms is AFG Bank deploying?

Based on our experience, we have identified eight strategic sub-sectors across the markets where AFG operates: drilling, chemical products, engineering & environmental studies, general services, maintenance & spare parts, blasting, transport & logistics and energy.

To support these sub-sectors, our dedicated Mining Desk offers a full range of financing tools: invoice, contract and purchase-order advances and short-term credit to meet working capital needs, alongside leasing, equipment loans and two- to five-year medium-term loans for capital expenditure, which account for 70% of the CFAF 100 billion LCCP envelope.