By Adedapo Adesanya
The Emerging African Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), an Africa-focused infrastructure fund, has raised $294 million in debt capital to invest in sustainable projects on the continent.
The financing round was led by Allianz Global Investors which committed a total of $132 million to the EAIF in both Euros and Dollars. Standard Bank provided a combined $100 million via two separate facilities with sustainability-linked features while KfW, the German state-owned development bank, added a $66 million loan to the fund.
The EAIF will invest in infrastructure projects focused on the energy transition, low-carbon economies, and energy-efficient smart cities.
The fund has committed $1.3 billion to projects on the continent since its founding in 2001 and plans to raise that by about $300 million over the next two years.
Speaking on the funding, Mr Martijn Proos, the co-head of emerging market alternative credit at Ninety One, which is the fund manager for EAIF, said it will reach its $500 million target by June.
“What we have raised right now, together with the existing facilities and the recycling of the capital of the fund, gives us investment capacity up to 2025,” he said, “We will start to raise the next round of capital by June this year, another $200 or $250 million to meet our target.”
The fund also plans an expansion to Asia, parts of which have a growth trajectory and similar infrastructure needs as Africa.
The expansion to Asia will help EAIF diversify its portfolio, grow its assets faster, and also align its operations with its parent company; the Private Infrastructure Development Group.
“The core focus of the fund will remain Africa but with small inroads into the Asian market to compliment our offering within the PIDG group,” Mr Proos said.
He added that the plans to expand to other growing markets “will not erode our focus on Africa at all.”
Modupe Gbadeyanka