Here is something that surprises most people when they first encounter project finance: financiers will fund something that does not exist yet. Not a business that is struggling, not a concept that needs a little runway — a project that is, at the moment of financing, nothing more than land, contracts, and a credible plan.

And the amounts are not small. A modest infrastructure project in Africa might require $10 million in financing. A medium-sized one, $50 million or more. The capital is available. What is almost always missing is a well-structured project to put it into.

That gap — between available capital and investable projects — is exactly what tayari is designed to help you close.

Where to begin

The single most important thing you can do when starting to think about an infrastructure project is identify your customer. Not your investor. Not your contractor. Your customer — the entity that will pay for whatever your project produces over a long period of time.

In project finance, this customer is called an offtaker. An offtaker is someone who agrees, in writing, to buy your output at a defined price over a defined period. That agreement — called an offtake agreement or power purchase agreement — is the foundation on which everything else is built.

Why the offtaker comes first: Lenders and investors need to know how the project will generate revenue. Without a committed customer, there is no revenue certainty. Without revenue certainty, there is no bankable project. Everything else — land, contractors, operators — matters, but none of it matters as much as a creditworthy customer with a long-term contract.

A simple example

You have an idea: a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility. You believe there is demand for locally produced medicines — perhaps a hospital group or a government health department that currently imports everything and would prefer a domestic supplier.

You also know there are international suppliers of pharmaceutical raw materials who can supply you on a long-term basis.

Example project sketch

A pharmaceutical manufacturing facility that produces generic medicines. The customer (offtaker) is a hospital group that signs a 10-year supply agreement. Raw material is supplied by an international pharmaceutical ingredient supplier on a long-term contract. The facility is built on land leased from a municipality. An experienced contract manufacturer builds and operates it.

That is a bankable project sketch. It is not a business plan. It is not a feasibility study. It is a structure — and that structure is what makes it financeable.

The four building blocks — in order

Once you have a viable customer and a product or service you can credibly deliver, the rest follows a logical sequence. Here is how experienced developers think about it:

1. The customer (offtaker) — most critical

As explained above, this is the foundation. The stronger and more creditworthy your offtaker, the more bankable your project. A government ministry or a listed company with a long-term contract is significantly more bankable than a smaller or unrated buyer. Start here and do not move on until you have real conversations happening.

2. The land — most challenging

Securing land rights is almost always the hardest part of early-stage project development in Africa. It involves navigating local government, traditional authorities, existing land users, and often environmental requirements. A project without secure land rights cannot be built — and lenders will not commit capital until they are satisfied that the site is properly secured. Start this process early, in parallel with your customer conversations.

3. The contractor — who builds it

Once you have a customer and a site, finding a contractor becomes substantially easier. You now have something concrete to put to tender. Experienced contractors understand the project finance world and will often work with developers at risk during early stages if they believe the project will reach financial close. The key is finding a contractor with a track record — lenders will scrutinise this carefully.

4. The operator — who runs it

The operator manages the facility once it is built. In many cases this is the same entity as the contractor, or a specialist firm in the relevant sector. Lenders want to see that operations will be managed by someone with experience and that performance guarantees are in place. This is generally the most straightforward piece to assemble once the first three are in order.

What comes after

With these four elements taking shape, you can begin to think seriously about financing. You will need a feasibility study, a financial model, and a project company (usually a Special Purpose Vehicle or SPV) through which the project will be held. You will also need legal counsel and — increasingly — tools like tayari to assess your readiness and identify where your gaps are before you walk into a lender's or investor's office.

The journey from idea to financial close typically takes two to five years. That is not a reason to hesitate — it is a reason to start now.