AfDB Boosts Infrastructure in Africa through Private Equity Investment
African Development Bank (AfDB) has said it will increase participation in Africa’s infrastructure development through private equity investment.
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in line with its resolve has therefore approved its third equity investment of US$40 million in Africa Infrastructure Investment Fund (AIIF3), a closed-ended pan-African infrastructure fund managed by South Africa-based Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM).
“AIIM is one of Africa’s most experienced infrastructure fund managers. The Fund will focus on acquiring positions of significant influence in roads, airports, rail links, bridges, ports, logistics, power generation, utility distribution, as well as telecommunication assets. AIIF3 boasts an extensive pipeline of bankable or near-bankable infrastructure projects. Having reviewed hundreds of potential investments, AIIM has narrowed down a pipeline of circa US$ 500 million, including key projects such as: Bugesera Airport, Libreville Bypass, and Kampala-Jinja Expressway”, a statement from the Bank revealed.
The proposal represents the bank’s third investment with the fund manager, following a 1996 investment in SAIF and a 2010 investment in AIIF2. With this, the African Development Bank stands to have positive additional role through this investment, given that the fundraising market continues to be very challenging, leaving an important role to be played by DFIs.
