India has extended approximately $32 billion in credit to 42 African nations in the last 10 years, accounting for 38 percent of India’s total credit distribution, according to Export-Import Bank of India Managing Director Harsha Bangari. In addition, India has opened 195 project-based lines of credit in Africa worth around $12.8 billion – triple the number in its own region.
This makes Africa the second-largest recipient of credit from India. In a media interview, Bangari said that credit extended by India in the last decade is just a few percentage points below its neighbours. She added that Africa has made good use of credit lines, extending for projects in the areas of healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture and irrigation.
While China’s loans to Africa have dipped since 2016, overall in the 10 years to 2020, it pledged $134.6 billion to African nations, says the data from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center. The amount is almost 11 times more than what India has offered.
The Government of India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has pushed for deeper engagement with Africa, strengthening both diplomatic and economic ties. In the last nine years, 18 of the 25 new Indian embassies or consulates were opened in Africa. In February 2023, India hosted 48 African countries at the Voice of Global South summit. PM Modi has also been championing India as a representative of the Global South and using platforms such as the presidency of the Group of 20 nations to highlight the debt crises in developing economies.
