Africa50, the specialist investor in African infrastructure, has appointed Djalal Khimdjee as chief executive officer of its Africa50 Principal Investment Fund (formerly Africa50 Project Finance), effective 1 August 2026.
With more than 25 years of experience spanning infrastructure investment, executive leadership and development finance, Khimdjee will lead the fund through its next phase of growth, scaling a disciplined investment fund that delivers sustainable financial returns, while accelerating infrastructure development and economic transformation across Africa.
“Khimdjee brings an exceptional combination of investment expertise, strategic vision, and extensive experience mobilising capital for infrastructure across Africa and emerging markets,” said Alain Ebobissé, group chief executive officer of Africa50, in a statement.
“His appointment reinforces Africa50’s ambition to scale its investment platform, deepen partnerships with institutional investors, and accelerate the delivery of transformative infrastructure that strengthens Africa’s growth, resilience, and competitiveness,” he noted.
“We are delighted to welcome Khimdjee to the Africa50 leadership team,” he added.
Khimdjee joins Africa50 from Proparco, the private sector financing arm of the French Development Agency Group (AFD), where he served as deputy chief executive officer and helped shape one of the leading development finance institutions.
During his 8-year tenure, he led strategy execution, investment delivery and portfolio management, contributing to the expansion of annual investments from €1.4 billion to €2.5 billion and assets under management from €5 billion to €7.5 billion.
He previously held leadership and investment positions within the AFD Group and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), building more than two decades of experience financing infrastructure and private sector development across emerging markets throughout Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.
Speaking on the appointment, Khimdjee said, Africa’s infrastructure gap is one of the defining challenges – and one of the most compelling investment opportunities of the coming decades, particularly as the continent is projected to be home to nearly 40 percent of the world’s population by the end of the century.
“I am delighted to join Africa50 at this important stage of its growth and look forward to working with the team, shareholders, partners, and investors to accelerate the delivery of transformative infrastructure projects that generate long-term impact across the continent,” he said.
The appointment comes as Africa50 continues to expand its role as a leading infrastructure investor, developing and investing in projects that address Africa’s infrastructure deficit while attracting long-term institutional capital to the continent.