$20 Million: Been endorsed by AfDB Group an Equity Investment in the Africa50

By Abdul Rahman Bangura–

NEW AFRICA DAILY NEWS (NADN) Freetown, Sierra Leone – Nowadays, the Southern African nation of Zimbabwe is squabbling with power deficits hamstringing careers across sectors. And this is similarly evident in South Africa and Zambia.

The AfDB 2019 infrastructure report for Zimbabwe, stated the proposed appropriation for infrastructure requirements drives beyond $30 billion to link the chasm in energy, transport, communications and other infrastructure. The Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration Fund is a Pan-African infrastructure private equity fund that is mobilizing up to $500 million for investment and value creation in strategic infrastructure sectors.

These encompass power, energy, digital and social infrastructure, transportation, logistics, and water and sanitation.

The Fund is funded by Africa50, an infrastructure investment platform inaugurated by African administrations and the AfDB, that gives rise to infrastructure project development and financing under one umbrella.

Africa50 has a powerful trace of undertakings in the private sector and of projects undertaken under the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) framework.

According to the AfDB, the mobilization of private capital is crucial to nearing the infrastructure financing rift in Africa, particularly provided the limited fiscal opening of African administrations, which now contribute the largest source of infrastructure funding on the landmass.

The Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration Fund I was organized as a carriage to enable commit Africa50’s mandate of mobilizing private capital and expediting further investment streams into African infrastructure by targeting private and institutional investors.

AfDB Director for the Industrial and Trade Development Department – Abdu Mukhtar announced the Bank’s investment in the Fund underscored its strategic essence and the evidence that the Bank prioritizes investing in strategic infrastructure sectors that contribute to closing Africa’s infrastructure financing gap, which is totaled $68 to $108 billion yearly.

“The Bank’s investment will support Africa50 to crowd in private capital into African infrastructure through a private equity fund vehicle that private investors better understand and are more comfortable investing in,” Mukhtar told.

Commenting on the approval, Wale Shonibare, AfDB’s Director for Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulations explained the Bank’s assistance for the Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration Fund I aligned with its High Five objectives.

“It also strengthens the Bank’s already existing partnerships with the Africa50 Group on initiatives such as the African Sovereign Investors Forum and the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa,” Shonibare added.

Alain Ebobissé, Chief Executive of the Africa50 Group, said: “We are highly appreciative of the African Development Bank’s support for the Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration Fund I. We look forward to continuing to work creatively with the African Development Bank and other investors to make a meaningful contribution to improving the infrastructure landscape on the continent.”

By leveraging private capital for infrastructure investment, The Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration Fund I can help create jobs, strengthen healthcare access, improve education access through digital technologies, enhance access to financial services and financial inclusion through fintech investments, and curtail the consequence of climate change.

The fund is projected to create 3,278 full-time identical jobs over the period 2023-2035, comprising 1,676 jobs for women. In extension, the fund is anticipated to provide to promoting regional integration through restorations in transport and logistics infrastructure that can steer to boosted inter and intra-regional trade.

The AfDB and partners in the new fund will proceed with to give development capital and infrastructure equity to fund the pressing desire to stimulate private sector funding toward crossing the infrastructure financing ravine in Africa.

For New Africa Daily News Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports,  Africa Correspondent