The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) plans to expand its direct equity investments in Africa, including projects in the critical minerals sector, as Washington intensifies efforts to challenge China's dominance of strategic supply chains. DFC Regional Managing Director for Africa, Vibhuti Jain, told Reuters that the agency intends to increase its use of equity financing for strategically important projects as its operations expand. "you will see us deploy equity in addition to or in place of other instruments". "There are a number of projects in our equity pipeline right now, including...