Africa Focused Infrastructure Fund Raises $294 Million - Bloomberg
Summary
We will start to raise the next round of capital by June this year, another $200 or $250 million to meet our target, Proos said.Allianz Global Investors led the financing round committing 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, it said in an emailed statement. While the fund has an active loan portfolio of $1.3 billion, it has committed over $2.1 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.EAIF has developed a diverse portfolio in the last 20 years while maintaining a minimal default rate, Proos said. Our goal is to be the gateway for institutional and commercial investors into the African asset class, he said.It also plans an expansion to Asia, parts of which has similar infrastructure needs as Africa, Proos said in an interview. 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 still remain Africa but with small inroads into the Asian market to complement our offering within the PIDG group, Proos said, adding it will not erode our focus on Africa at all.